TMNT
by Holly's Follies
Summary: Four ninjas fight to wrest control of New York from an organization known only as The Foot. In a world of danger and deception, can four brothers vanquish a force much greater than themselves?
1. Prologue

**So, I read this fanfic a little while ago, and the author had made all the turtles human. When I read the summary, I thought, "Eh, I probably won't like it. What's the point of reading a Turtles fic without turtles?" but then I read it and was like, "Woah, this is actually really cool," so I've been inspired to write my own AU human turtles fic. Thank you anonymous author for the idea. I wish I remembered your penname so that I could thank you properly. **

**Disclaimer: If turtles did I own, my heart would not lie so prone, to the cruelties of this world, and the insults it has hurled, alas it is my fate, to use these fanfics to sate, a thirst I never knew I had, but really is that so bad? **

**On with the fic me lovelies! **

Teenagers Managing National Threats, or TMNT for short, is a clandestine organization. It's been off the books since its inception in 1954. It operates so far under the radar, that even should the radar be located a mile underground, it would still be hard pressed to uncover a trace of this organization. And that's exactly as it should be.

Perhaps the director is worried about ethical concerns, for it is hardly moral to send teenagers into the kinds of situations that TMNT operatives are frequently sent into. Should these missions ever be discovered, human rights activists would swarm the base of operations (an unassuming, former bank building in Brooklyn) in droves. The organization would be exposed and dismantled in a matter of hours, if not minutes.

Or perhaps the director's preoccupation with secrecy stems from another source. Truly, what would TMNT be without secrecy? Teenagers only make good spies when spies are not thought of as teenagers, no? If word got around that there was an organization dedicated to training and dispatching such youthful operatives, the element of surprise would be eliminated, eliminating much of the usefulness of the project in the first place.

Today this director, so obsessed with secrecy, was sitting at his desk. He took a sip of his coffee, shuffled the papers on his desk, and opened his mouth, to utter the words that so begin this story.

"Send for Team Renaissance."

**Ok, so there's the prologue to my new story. Three guesses who team renaissance is. ;) I hope you enjoyed it and aren't too put off that I made the turtles human. Anywho, review if you so choose. I love it when you do. Peace out home fries. **


	2. A Morning at Mikey's

**Hello, everyone! Thank you to CelestialSonata7 for being the first to review my new story, and thanks also to mcmario for your review. I always appreciate any and all feedback. :) Not much to say here other than I hope you enjoy chapter one. **

**Disclaimer: (insert standard disclaimer here)**

"Mikey! I swear if I catch you in my room one more time I will rip out your tonsils and stuff them down your throat!" Raphael growled at his youngest brother.

Michelangelo just laughed, before sliding down the spiral staircase of their somewhat unusual home. The boys lived in an abandoned library, constructed sometime in the 1920's. The library consisted of two floors. The top floor had four bedrooms and a bathroom, while the bottom floor was one large, sprawling room. The front doors opened into the first floor. Midway down the room, on either side, rose two spiraling staircases, which connected with the walkway that encircled the second floor. Standing in the center of the room, one could look up two floors into the high, vaulted ceilings; could see the arched doorways leading into the bedrooms; and could even almost see the mural that was once painted around the top of the second floor.

"Wahoooooo!" Mikey yelled, turning a flip off the bottom of the banister. He swished strawberry blond hair out of his face and grinned back up at Raph. "You'd have to catch me first, Raphie Boy," he retorted.

"Oh, that's it, Mikey! You are so dead!" Raph charged down the stairs.

"Meep!" Mikey took off, fleeing to the safety of his immediate older brother's lab. Donny's work space had been declared a no rough-housing zone, as per Leo's orders. The last mishap in the lab had nearly resulted in Mikey's head getting blown off. Luckily, he'd escaped with only the loss of his eyebrows.

Mikey caught Don's arm and swung around behind him.

"Wha-" Don began, but Raph cut him off.

"Come out of there, Mikey, you chicken." Raph had stopped at the edge of the lab, not venturing into the mess of tables, disassembled metal gadgets, and beakers of unidentifiable liquids.

Mikey stuck his tongue out over Don's shoulder.

"Mikey," Raph warned, fists clenching.

"Oh for Pete's sake," Don repined, running a hand through his dark red hair, making the short strands stand on end. Don grabbed Mikey's arm and half twisted half tossed his brother out from behind him and into Raph's waiting clutches. "I'm trying to work here you boneheads."

"No, Donny how could you!" Mikey's betrayed cries were abruptly shortened as Raph's arm wrapped itself around his throat in a headlock.

"Who's laughing now?" Raph demanded, intent on inflicting as much nonlethal pain on his brother as possible.

Before Raphael could really get started, though, a fourth young man entered the mix. "Alright, boys, that's enough," Leonardo said.

"Ah, but Leo," Raph protested, "I was just about to teach Mikey a lesson."

Mikey gurgled pathetically, hoping Leonardo would take pity on him.

Leo smiled slightly, "Sorry to interrupt your lesson, but Agent Splinter just called. He says he has an assignment for us. He's sending someone over with the files in an hour." Leo turned a slow circle, observing "The Lair" as they'd dubbed their home so many years ago, with a critical eye, "We'll have to do something about this disaster zone as well."

Raph huffed. He released Michelangelo, allowing him to fall to the floor in a heap, "Can I pummel Mikey after we're done?" he asked hopefully.

Leo chuckled, "We'll see. Now, who's ready for some cleaning ninja style?"

* * *

April O'Neil approached the old library warily. She hadn't been on the job long and wasn't sure what to expect. So far she'd been on desk duty, filing papers, making copies, that sort of thing. This was the first time she'd been anywhere other than the office, let alone anywhere near the operatives. She swallowed, mentally reviewing the personnel files she'd read through on Team Renaissance:

Team Leader: Leonardo Hamato

Age: 19

Date of Birth: May 4, 1992

Hair: straight, dark brown

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 180

Second in Command: Raphael Hamato

Age: 18

Date of Birth: February 11, 1993

Hair: curly, auburn

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 192

Technology/Medical Expert: Donatello Hamato

Age: 18

Date of Birth: December 2, 1993

Hair: curly, red-brown

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 177

Michelangelo Hamato (skill set unspecified):

Age: 17

Date of Birth: October 31, 1994

Hair: straight, strawberry blond

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 169

Satisfied that she was as prepared as she was ever going to be, she stepped up to the large double doors and rapped on them with the oversized, ornate, gold knocker. The door opened almost immediately. She was met by a tall young man with dark hair. This had to be Leonardo. She stuck out a hand, "Hello, I'm April O'Neil. I'm taking a survey and was hoping I could have a minute of your time."

Leonardo shook her hand, answering, "Of course, I always have time for a pretty girl."

With the exchanging of code phrases out of the way, April stepped through the doorway and into the foyer of the library. Leonardo led the way into his home, through the foyer, and over to the living area, where he offered April a seat across from his brothers.

April smiled tentatively at the young men seated on a couch in front of her. It was obvious they were brothers. Their noses were all shaped the same and all had the same defined cheekbones, but the most striking similarity was their eye color: vibrant green. It reminded her of the pet turtle she'd had as a child.

Leonardo made introductions before sitting down himself. He pointed first to the boy with chin length, auburn curls: Raphael; then to the boy seated next to him with hair the color of cherry cola: Donatello; and finally to the youngest boy, sitting on the arm of the couch, trying to blow his red gold hair out of his eyes: Michelangelo.

April nodded to each in turn.

Leo took a seat in an armchair, swiveling to face April. "Ok, Ms. O'Neil, I understand you have a job for us?"

April laid the files she'd brought with her down on the table, saying as she did so, "Yes, we have a group we'd like you to look in to. I don't know if you're familiar with them. They're an organization called The Foot."

**Well, there you have it. To give you all some idea of my updating schedule, I will most likely update every other day. I hope you all liked my humanized turtles. Does anyone else ever picture them human? What do you guys see? Drop me a review. They make me happy. :)**


	3. An Evening with Leo

**Thank you CelestialSonata7 for another review. You're great. :) I hope you like this next chapter. **

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed. **

Leo slid fluidly from one kata to the next. It was going on midnight, but no one was yet in bed. Raph and Mikey were playing video games, and Don was back in his lab whipping up more techno gadgetry. Those activities in themselves weren't so unusual, but Leo was pretty sure his brothers were more involved in taking their minds off tomorrow's meeting than actually staying up late.

Leo sighed. He wasn't looking forward to tomorrow either. Sure, he'd love to see Agent Splinter. The man was like a father to his brothers and him. He just wished the meeting could occur under better circumstances. Without warning, Leo spun around, executing a series of kicks and spins, then dropped and rolled across the dojo. He bounced back to his feet, hardly breaking a sweat, but even training couldn't take his mind off April's information.

The Foot. The director wanted them to go up against The Foot. Didn't he know? Didn't he realize they'd already tangled with the Foot? New York was practically overrun with those pajama-wearing freaks, as Raph had so eloquently put it one night.

Leo slid down the wall, crossing his legs Indian style. The memories from that night came crashing over him. It hadn't exactly been a crowning moment of glory for them.

_The secret elevator to The Lair whooshed open, admitting a bedraggled Raph and Mikey. Raph had Mikey's arm slung around his shoulders, supporting his little brother's limping gait over to the couch. _

_Leo had fairly jumped down from the second level in order to get to his obviously injured brothers. Don came running over, already wielding a first aid kit. _

"_What happened?" Leo demanded. _

"_Whaddaya think happened?" Raph barked sarcastically. "The Foot happened." Raph batted Don's hands away, as his brother tried to examine a cut on his arm. "Go check on Mikey first. I'm fine." _

_Don raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't comment, instead opting for gently examining the giant knot on Mikey's forehead. _

"_Raph," Leo tried again, in a gentler tone. _

"_I know, Fearless. I know," Raph answered, sinking onto the couch next to Mikey. He scrubbed a hand across his face before beginning, "Mikey got the worst of it. We were just walking back from the store. Well, you know, running the rooftops anyway, when we saw these Foot goons doing a little b and e. We weren't gonna bust them, but they spotted us before we could get out of there. So Mikey and I pulled our masks on and jumped down into that mess. It was going pretty well, but there were a few too many of them, and Mikey and I ended up taking a couple knocks. Like I said, he got the worst of it," Raph said this last bit guiltily. _

_Mikey seemed to notice this and poked Raph in the eye while trying to pat him on the shoulder. Raph, for once, didn't get mad and smiled slightly at the clumsy attempt to cheer him up. _

_ "Quit moving, Mikey," Don remonstrated. He finished tying a bandage around Mikey's head, before moving on to take a look at his ankle._

_Raph picked up the story again, "We managed to hold them back long enough to put a few blocks between us, but it's lucky we were so close to a manhole cover cause I don't think Mikey and I could've got much farther. Once we were in the sewers we just made our way back here. That underground elevator sure is coming in handy."_

_Don nodded, "I know. That elevator is a fascinating piece of technology. I still wish I could figure out what powers it. I mean, there's no obvious means of propulsion, no cables, no pulleys..." Don's words subsided into mutterings as he finished patching his brothers up. His hands moved on autopilot, having had to affix bandages and clean cuts on just about a weekly basis, freeing up his mind to continue pondering the elevator. He was pretty sure the technology wasn't from Earth, but couldn't imagine where else it could have come from. When he'd brought it up to Agent Splinter, the man had found this place for them after all, he didn't seem to know what Donatello was talking about. The mystery elevator was just that: a mystery. One Donatello could not make heads nor tails of. _

_ Leo, for his part, paced in front of his family, wondering what they could do about this threat. They knew very little about these strange ninja, only that they called themselves The Foot and seemed to be pulling jobs all over the city. They'd intervened intentionally twice, preventing The Foot from making off with stolen goods both times. The other two times they'd run into them had been purely accidental. Up till now, no one had been seriously injured, but if Mikey and Raph were anything to go by, The Foot were stepping up their game. Leo paused in his pacing when he realized his brothers were staring at him. _

_ Raph spoke first, "It's ok, Leo. We'll figure something out. We always do." _

_ "Yeah," Mikey chimed in, "you and Don are both like really smart and stuff. If anyone can come up with a plan it's you guys!" _

_ "Mikey and Raph are right, Leo," Don said. "I'm sure you'll think of something." _

_ Leo smiled at his family, a feeling of pride swelling in his chest at their confidence in him. "Yeah, I know, guys. I will. For now though, I think it's time we all went to bed. You and Mikey especially, Raph." _

_ "Yeah, yeah," Raph grumbled. _

_ Don helped Mikey up off the couch, and they headed towards the stairs. _

_ Leo watched them go, wishing he had as much confidence_ _as they did that this would be resolved. _

Leo got up from the floor, wondering how long he'd been lost in his memories. The Lair was quiet, but a light was still on in the living room. When Leo got to the circle of chairs and couches, he was only slightly surprised to see his three brothers spread out across most of the furniture.

Mikey and Raph were on either end of the big couch, both passed out and snoring. Don was taking up most of the loveseat, his nose buried in a book, but he glanced up as Leo walked over. "Somebody forget to invite me to this slumber party?"

Don snorted, "I'll braid your hair if you want."

Leo laughed, "I'll pass. Is there a reason you're all crashing out here?"

Don shrugged, "I think we could all use the company, considering what we're starting tomorrow."

Leo nodded. He too felt the need to be close to his family tonight. He walked over to the old maintenance closet, now a linen closet, and pulled out a stack of blankets. He draped one over Raph, one over Mikey, and handed one to Don.

"Night, Don," Leo said, settling himself in the armchair.

"Night, Leo," Don yawned, and then they were both engulfed in darkness.

**The plot thickens, haha. I'll post the next chapter Friday. Review!**


	4. Afternoons with an Agent

**Hello, everyone! Thanks for all the reviews. :) I'm eternally grateful. Normally, I wouldn't reply to individual reviews, but I'm going to for this story, so: **

**BubblyShell22: Thank you for your three consecutive reviews and for being specific with what you liked about the fic. That's always helpful. **

**Alura Nescire: Sup, home fry? I'm glad you're loving the story so much. Yeah, I'm of the same opinion. The characters are the same even if their, uh vessels if you will, are not. Thanks for being so positive. **

**Leradomi: I realize you're probably not even going to read this, as you don't like the story, but I wanted to say that you don't have to apologize about your review. You're entitled to your own opinion. **

**Tsunami mermaid: Haha, awesomeness. I hope you like Don. ;)**

**CelestialSonata7: Thanks once again for reviewing. I'm glad you liked my family shmoop. :)**

**Anyway, here's the next installment to the story. I realize it's off to a kind of slow start, but I promise the next chapter has more action in it. **** By the way, Unnaturalstories says hi! :D (That's my baby sis) **On with the fic!

**Disclaimer: T.M.N.T. (Totally Not Mine...uh...totally)**

Agent Splinter, Michelangelo hated to admit, had very rat-ish qualities. A small nose, close-set beady eyes, bucked teeth, ears that stuck out…he could continue, but it was just such an unflattering description. If only it weren't so true! Michelangelo had to resist the urge to squeak at the man every time he saw him. He had almost done it once, but Leo's big brother radar must have gone off a split second beforehand, and the thwack to the backside of his head was enough to discourage him from trying his idea.

That being said, Agent Splinter was far from a rat in character. He had taken the four of them in and raised them, after their parents had passed. Mikey didn't remember a whole lot about them. Leo had the best memories, but even a seven-year-old's memories aren't that great. Agent Splinter spoke of them rarely, very occasionally telling the boys stories of their parents. On the cause of their death, he said nothing, only that there'd been some kind of explosion in a TMNT facility, but outside of that, he would elaborate no further.

Splinter had been a close friend of their parents, which was part of the reason why he'd been chosen to be their guardian. For a few years, Mikey had believed that Splinter had only taken them in because he felt guilty, obligated to raise the sons of the people whose jobs had gotten them killed, but he eventually learned it was more than that. Splinter felt genuine affection for them. He had no family, no children of his own. They were his sons, in all but genetics.

While growing up in Splinter's home, the four boys had been instructed in the ancient ways of Bushido. They'd practiced for hours, mastering techniques, learning blocks and attacks, and sparring against one another. They'd built skills as a team, learning both how to fight as an individual and as a unit. They had gone through weapons training. All four had been trained with various weapons, but each had gravitated toward their own particular favorite.

The training had not all been physical. They learned the spiritual half of bushido, meditating, and becoming masters of their own minds. They discovered a deep rooted connection between the four of them. After a few years of training, it got to the point where they could almost sense each others' presence, as long as there was not too much distance between them. Mikey, particularly, was good at this. He could sense more than presence. He could pick up on emotions, on his brothers' internal states. He could influence his brothers, in subtle ways. He could relieve the tension in a room, bring a smile to one of their faces even on the worst of days. It was nothing extraordinary. It was like how Raph was the strongest, how Donny was the smartest, or how Leo was the leader. He was just born with it.

Up until a year ago, they had been living with Agent Splinter, but after twelve years, they'd outgrown Splinter's three bedroom apartment. Leonardo was officially old enough to hold a lease under his own name, and Splinter thought it was in all of their best interests if the four brothers moved out. A parent, after all, must let go of his children eventually. The boys needed their space, a place to become their own men, and Splinter trusted his oldest to lead and guide his younger sons with a fair hand.

Hence their current home, an old library nestled in old New York, which Splinter was currently visiting, debriefing them on the new mission.

"My sons, I assume you have all read through the files that Ms. O'Neil brought over?" Splinter began.

The four nodded.

"Good. Then you all know that we are up against a very dangerous enemy. The Foot has been around since Feudal Japan, evolving, honing their skills. They have had years to become the criminal organization they are today, but that is even more reason for TMNT to put a stop to their nefarious deeds. That is where you four come in."

"Sensei, that's all well and good," Leonardo said, slipping into the old name they had all used when addressing Agent Splinter, "but what is it exactly that you want us to do? April's files only gave us the same outlined information that you just gave us."

"Ah," Splinter said, "I'm getting to that. Do any of you know where The Foot come from? Not the organization, but the actual members themselves?"

The boys all shook their heads.

"They come from cities, side streets, back alleys, places much like this one. They are recruited from poor neighborhoods, offered a chance to make something of themselves, a chance they would not get elsewhere. They are the children from broken homes. They are from places that they will not be missed. How many children in this city do you think fit this description?"

"Hundreds," Donatello whispered, horrorstruck, "if not thousands. New York's practically a goldmine for these people."

Splinter nodded, stroking his short, gray beard, "I am aware, as are our superiors. The Foot exploit these children, promising them wealth and power. They prey on their desires, knowing that these children have virtually no hope of rising from the environment they've grown up in. We must put a stop to this. That is your mission. We need to get to the recruiters. We need to stop the people that are luring more young people into The Foot."

The brothers all exchanged looks, before Leonardo broke the silence, "Sensei, you're not suggesting that we… that we join The Foot, are you?"

"That is exactly what I'm suggesting, my son. I want you four to infiltrate The Foot."

**And so concludes another chapter. Hope you all liked it. If you would like to file a complaint with the author, feel free to click the blue review button and have at it.**


	5. Nooners and Ninjas

**Hey, everyone. Here's the next chapter. As promised, it is more action-y than the preceding chapters, and it's also quite a bit longer. Hope you enjoy. **

**Alura Nescire: Sup? Glad you liked my bit of background information and Splinter's description. I had fun making him look like a rat, haha. **

**BubblyShell22: Thanks for pointing that out. It's all good now. **

**CelestialSonata7: Yeah, Mikey's my favorite too. :D**

**Anyway, on with the fic, me hardies!**

**Disclaimer: Ey-thay aren't-hay ine-may. **

Raph clenched his jaw. The grinding of his teeth was nearly audible to the young man standing beside him. He saw the tall, scrawny looking kid glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. "You got a problem, beanpole?" Raph demanded.

Beanpole paled visibly, "N-n-no." He edged away from Raph as fast as he could, without actually running away.

Raph flashed him a smile full of teeth, "Didn't think so."

Raph felt Mikey nudge him from his other side, "Cool it, hothead," Mikey implored him. "We're supposed to be blending in."

"Whatever. This place is making my skin crawl."

Mikey and Raph were bunched up inside a warehouse with twelve other new Foot recruits. Two upper level Foot members were standing in the middle of the warehouse floor, eyeing the young men. The fourteen of them had been instructed to enter the warehouse and stand in a group in the back facing the front. They had been doing so for the past ten minutes, and Raph was getting antsy.

A massive whale of a kid (he had to be close to three hundred pounds!) bumped into Mikey and nearly knocked him over.

Raph shoved the kid back, steadying Mikey with one hand, "Watch it, tubby."

The kid glared, but didn't say anything.

Raph noticed Mikey giving him a dirty look, "What?"

"I'm not a little kid anymore. I can take care of myself."

Raph just shrugged. He wasn't going to apologize for being protective of his brothers. "What are they waitin' for?" he asked instead.

"I dunno."

As soon as the words left Mikey's lips, the two foot ninjas approached the group. "Form a line," one of them instructed. The boys lined up. Mikey and Raph found themselves on the far left end.

The two ninjas started at the end farthest from Mikey and Raph's and began making their way down. They poked and prodded at the recruits, making comments occasionally: too thin, too meaty, too short. At one boy, they had stopped and just started laughing. The boy hung his head in shame.

"They're checking us out like slabs of meat!" Raph spit lowly.

"What did you expect?" Mikey answered just as softly. "They've gotta inspect the goods before they bring us back to their master."

The two ninjas finished making comments at Beanpole and finally got to Raph, sizing him up like they had the rest. Raph's lip curled into a smirk almost of its own accord. "Like what you see?"

The Foot ninjas paused and met Raph's challenging gaze, "Watch your mouth boy," one of them hissed. "You would do well to show your betters some respect."

The two locked gazes for an excruciatingly long moment, and Mikey wondered if this mission was going to be over before it started, but Raph bit off the retort on the tip of his tongue and used a significant amount of his little restraint to break the stare, looking instead down at his feet.

"Good boy," the Footman said patronizingly. "Now, what do we think of this one?" he asked his companion.

The other Footman put a hand to his chin mockingly, "Well he's certainly big enough, broad shoulders, thick head." The two Foot soldiers snickered.

"What is it they say," the first ninja started, "all brawn and no brain?"

They laughed louder, "Perhaps if his brains were half the size of his ego, he would be smart enough to keep his fat mouth shut."

Raph snapped. He charged the two Foot soldiers, but they'd been anticipating his brash move. They caught his arms and twisted him around, throwing him to the hard, cement ground. Raph's breath whooshed out of him as one of the ninjas planted a foot in his back.

Mikey had jerked reflexively, wanting to go to his brother's aid, but held himself back. They had to make this work.

"That is enough," a new voice ordered.

Raph pulled his face out of the floor long enough to look at the ninja elite that stood in the doorway.

"Release him."

The two Foot soldiers obeyed instantly, straightening up only to lean forward in low bows.

The ninja elite approached Raph, who had picked himself up off the floor and was brushing himself off.

"What is your name, whelp?"

"Raphael."

"Get back in line, Raphael."

"Or what?" Raph bristled, his turbulent temper still flaring.

The ninja smiled without a trace of mirth. "Do you know what today's trials entail?" He didn't wait for a response. "Today is the day we weed out the weak from the strong, the skilled from the incompetent. In this first test, you must survive one minute against twenty skilled ninja. If you come out relatively unscathed, you may advance to the next trial. If you do get injured, say one or two broken bones, you will be… removed from the program."

"That doesn't sound so tough."

The ninja raised an eyebrow, "Well, if the great Raphael does not think it sounds so tough, perhaps his young friend here would like to go first."

Raph turned when he realized the man was gesturing to Mikey. Mikey didn't seem fazed. He merely stepped forward and past Raph.

But the elite wasn't finished, "With twice the amount of opponents for twice the amount of time."

"What?" Raph yelped, "that's not fair."

Mikey put a hand on his arm, and Raph felt coolness spread from the point where their skin met: Mikey and his stupid "chi changing" as he called it, trying to calm Raph down. Raph met his eyes and they stared at each other for half a second. Raph got the message and stepped down. Mikey could handle it.

Mikey stepped into the middle of the room, waiting for his opponents to arrive. He didn't have long to wait. Foot seemed to spring from the woodwork. They rappelled down from the skylights, streamed in through the doors, stepped out from behind shipping crates.

Mikey assumed a defensive stance, feet apart, shoulders loose, ready for action. The Foot swarmed him, converging on him like spokes to the center of a wheel. Mikey became a whirlwind of action. He swept the feet out from under one ninja, using the same momentum to spin into a solid chop, which connected with another ninja's arm. Mikey smiled grimly as he heard the telltale crack of bone. _Good,_ he thought.

He flipped backwards, bouncing off a couple Footmen before coming down and executing a scissor kick. He caught another Foot's arm, as the man tried to grab his shoulder, and used his hip to thrust the man out into several more ninjas, knocking them all down. _Raph might've been right, _Mikey thought, _this is pretty easy_.

Mikey realized he'd just jinxed himself because the next thing he knew, he missed a step, and allowed a foot ninja to clip his shoulder. It threw him off balance, and he was unable to avoid the next punch, which connected squarely with his jaw. The force of the blow spun him half around, but Mikey recovered quickly. He danced agilely out of range of the next couple blows, concentrating on not getting hit again, but didn't expect what happened next.

The ninjas in front of him parted, allowing the elite to walk through the melee. "You have thirty seconds left," the elite announced. "Can you last for that amount of time against me?"

Mikey gulped, but assumed a fighting stance. The elite moved almost faster than the eye could see. Mikey barely managed to get his arm up to block the first strike. He wasn't fast enough to stop the second. The elite connected with an open palm strike to his chest, which sent him flying backwards into the wall.

_Get up, Mikey. Get up, Mikey, _he ordered himself. He could hear the elite approaching. If he didn't get up soon, he was gonna be toast. Mikey climbed to his feet, aware that he was swaying slightly. He met the elite's gaze. He wasn't going to lie down and take it. If this was it, he'd meet his end honorably. He'd make his brothers and his sensei proud.

The foot feinted to the right, and Mikey fell for it. When the man switched directions, Mikey knew he wasn't going to be able to block it in time.

_I'm sorry, bros._

**Dun dun dun! Oh no! What will become of poor Michelangelo? Tune in, in two days time, to find out! To switch to the review channel, please click the blue button below. **


	6. The Brothers' Repast

**Voila! Another chapter! Not much to say other than I got a lot more reviews on the last chapter, so woot to that, but also, in order to not have a really long author's note, I'm going to have to stop replying to individual reviews. Sorry, about that guys. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. You are all muy fantastico!**

**Disclaimer: No tengo nada...or you know somethin' like that. **

Mikey cringed, anticipating a blow that would end his short seventeen years of life. The ninja elite brought his hand within an inch of Mikey's face, but then…stopped. The elite stepped back. "Time. Your two minutes are up. You have advanced to the next trial."

Mikey sagged visibly in relief. He bowed to the ninja elite in front of him and made his way back to his brother. He had to weave in and out of the ninjas he'd felled; some were still unconscious.

When Mikey reached his brother's side, Raph asked, "You all right?"

Mikey touched the blossoming bruise on his jaw and rubbed absently at his throbbing chest, but nothing felt serious. "Yeah, I think so. Nothing's broken anyway."

Raph nodded, "Mikey, I-" he began, but was cut off by the approaching ninja elite.

The elite stopped in front of them, surveying them from under his straw hat. He seemed totally unconcerned by the match that was going on behind him. Some other poor boy was currently trying to fend off the twenty foot ninja.

The elite spoke, "You are already trained in the ways of bushido." It wasn't a question.

Mikey and Raph glanced at each other, before Raph answered, "Yes, our…father instructed us."

The ninja nodded, but continued to stare at them unfathomably. Without warning, he launched a throwing star at Raph's face. He caught it an inch from his left eye, between his palms.

Mikey turned, preparing to run, sure their cover had been blown, but stopped when the ninja elite made no further move to attack them.

"You two possess a level of skill higher than what we normally see in the usual street urchins."

His point was emphasized, as the boy who had been fighting before, was dragged from the warehouse. Unconscious or dead, Michelangelo wasn't sure.

The ninja elite stepped aside, "You are free to leave for today. You will be contacted tomorrow with further instructions."

Raph and Mikey bowed and walked from the warehouse. The second they were out of sight of the door, Mikey leaned against the wall and clutched his chest.

Raph was in front of him in a second, a hand on his shoulder, "Mikey? You ok? What hurts?"

Mikey shook his head. "I'm ok. It just hit all at once. The adrenaline, something, I didn't want the elite to think he'd hurt me that bad. I swear I'm fine," Mikey reiterated, when Raph continued to stare at him in concern.

Raph caught his chin, and turned Mikey's head so that he could examine the bruise on his cheek. "Yeah, alright," he finally answered, "but you gotta let Donny check you out when we get back to the apartment, ok?"

"Yeah, whatever, let's just go."

Raph let him go, but not without ruffling his hair affectionately, "You're just lucky you've got such a hard head."

"Oh, haha, laugh it up, funny boy. This is your fault anyway."

Raph jerked to a stop, tensing up, "I know, Mikey. I'm sorry. It wasn't supposed to go down like that."

Mikey stopped as well, but more out of surprise than anything. "Hey, come on, I was just kidding. You did your part just fine. You couldn't have known they were going to turn it around on me like that."

"I think they saw what I did. When I pushed that fat kid? You know, the Mini-Hun?"

"Yeah, so?"

"You yelled at me for being overprotective."

A light finally clicked on in Mikey's head, "Oooooh, you mean you think that they think that you think that I need protecting, ya think?"

Raph growled, "Mikey I have no idea what you just said, but if you meant that that ninja elite made you fight because he knew it would get to me, then yes, that is what I think."

Mikey shrugged unconcernedly, "So, what does it matter if that's why they did it? Our plan still worked didn't it? They think we're super, kick-butt ninjas, and you even didn't have to fight today. Operation impress the recruiters to work our way up to the boss recruiter is off with a bang."

Raph sighed, "Yeah, I guess," they began walking again, "but I still don't like it."

* * *

"Are they still in there?" Don asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Yes, Donny, they're still in there," Leo answered patiently.

He and Donny were perched on a rooftop across from the warehouse Raph and Mikey were in. Leo was lying down near the edge, training his binoculars on the doors he'd seen Raph and Mikey go in almost thirty minutes ago.

"Are you sure this plan was a good idea?" Donny asked. "We've never split up like this before. I don't like being relegated to 'outside tech support,'" Donny mimicked Agent Splinter's calm voice.

"I think it's a fine idea. Don't you think it'd be a little suspicious if four, highly trained ninjas all of a sudden showed up in a Foot recruitment group? It's still a little suspicious just with the two of them, but we couldn't send someone in by himself."

"I know…it's just Raph's such a hothead, and Mikey's still…" he stopped himself from saying little. Mikey had done a lot of growing up since they'd moved out. "Mikey," he finished lamely.

Leo smiled at his choice of words, "Raph's actually going to use that to his advantage, remember? If he baits those guys, he can test their reactions and draw a little attention to himself. With luck, he can draw the interest of the higher ups, and he and Mikey can start meeting with the big fish of this operation."

"Yeah, I guess," Donatello replied, still sounding discontent. "I can't wait till we can try out those new earwigs Splinter sent over," Donny perked up, changing the subject. "With a few modifications, I bet I can get them to pick up sounds from almost fifty feet away."

Leo laughed at his brother's enthusiasm, "And you can't just leave them in the shape Splinter delivers them because…?"

Don looked insulted, "You expect me to accept new technology without adding a few improvements of my own? That's an affront to my technological sensibilities."

Leo was about to reply when the door to the warehouse swung open.

"That's them," he said, standing up from the edge. "Let's pack up and go see what they found out."

Leo and Don quickly gathered up their gear and slithered down the fire escape. They met up with Raph and Mikey a few blocks from the warehouse.

"How'd it go, you guys?" Leo asked, falling into step with them.

"Yeah, and what happened to your face, Mikey?" Don added.

Raph and Mikey took turns explaining the events that had transpired over the last hour. Leo and Don listened, interrupting only for clarification, until Raph got to the part where Mikey had gotten injured.

"What?" Donny asked loudly, "Mikey, a strike like that over your heart can be dangerous. You need to let me check it out."

"Calm down!" Mikey hissed at him, glancing around at some passersby who were staring at them. "It's not that bad."

"I'll be the judge of that," Donny retorted, leading the way into the apartment building they had been moved to at the beginning of the mission.

The four hiked up five flights of stairs to apartment 5B. Don unlocked the door and let them all in. "Sit down, Mikey," he instructed, "and let me look at that."

"Fine," Mikey answered, petulantly. He sat on the couch and started stripping his shirt off. He tried really hard not to wince as he pulled the shirt over his head, but was not entirely successful. Fortunately his brothers didn't notice. Leo and Raph were in the kitchen still discussing what had happened in the warehouse, and Don had gone to get his med kit.

Don returned with his med kit and began examining the black splotch on Mikey's chest. He poked it. "Does that hurt?"

Mikey jumped, "Ouch! Yes.

"What about that?"

"Ow! Donny! Yes, it does!"

"How about this?"

Mikey slapped Don's hand away, "Yes, Donny, you've proven that my gigantor bruise does in fact hurt, can you stop torturing me now?"

Don leaned back on the sofa, smiling, "Yes, I'm done. You're going to be incredibly sore tomorrow, and that bruise is going to look like someone broke a rotten egg on your chest, but otherwise you're fine."

"Thank you," Mikey groused, pulling his t-shirt back on.

Don watched Mikey walk away, glad his little brother was all right, but still… Something was bothering him. It wasn't anything concrete, but as a ninja he'd learned to trust his instincts, and they were telling him one thing: _this isn't going to end well._

**Dun dun dun! Are Don's instincts correct? Will something horrible befall our daring heroes? Tune in Thursday for another exciting chapter of TMNT!**


	7. Donny Before Daybreak

**Sup, y'all? Here's the next fabulous chapter to TMNT. A couple quick comments before we begin. Thanks for the suggestion BubblyShell22. Thank you Starlight Warrior 1092 for your six consecutive reviews, and thank you to everyone who reviewed. Every review means a lot. **

** Soooo, on with the fic!**

** Disclaimer: (/._./) To the windows! (\._.\) To the walls! (l._.l) I own nothing at all!**

Donatello paused to wipe the sweat from his brow. Summers in New York weren't known for being scorching, but at times they got the occasional heat wave. He leaned back and surveyed his work. The mini-camera he was busy attaching to the side of the wall was pretty well camouflaged**, **but if he just tweaked this here… There, that was perfect. No one would ever know.

Donny tugged the rope around his waist twice, signaling for Leo to pull him up. Leo obliged, and Don flipped himself up on to the roof as soon as he was high enough.

"We all set?" Leo asked.

"Yep, we are good to go," Donny replied winding up the rope to stow in his duffle bag. "I still don't see why Mikey and Raph couldn't have gotten up at o'dark thirty to help us out though."

Leo laughed, "Cause they have another trial tomorrow, and I want them to be well-rested. We don't need anyone else getting hurt."

"And we shouldn't be well-rested? We're the ones that are going to have to sit out here all day tomorrow and stare at this building."

"Yeah, well luckily this time they gave us a little advanced warning, and we can observe them from the comfort of a surveillance vehicle."

Don snickered, "Hehe, advanced warning."

_Donatello had been having a wonderful dream last night. It had lots of curves and smelled really nice and screamed? "Huh?" Don asked sleepily, jumping out of bed and reaching for his bo staff. _

_ "Sounded like Mikey," Raph answered from the bed across the room._

_ The two brothers ran from their room down the hall to Mikey and Leo's room. They burst through the door, prepared to counter whatever new threat was attacking their brothers, and stopped short at what they saw. _

_ Mikey was pressed into the corner of his bed, back against the two walls, with an arrow between his legs. _

_ "What the shell happened here?" Raph demanded. _

_ Donny looked over to the open window and saw a hole in the curtains. He walked over and peered through the gap, calculating the angle of trajectory. Donny jumped as Raph grabbed the back of his t-shirt and yanked him back. _

_ "Standing by the open window isn't exactly the smartest idea right now, genius," he drawled. _

_ Donny looked away embarrassed, but replied, "Uh, yeah, right. I just wanted to see if I could trace the arrow's trajectory and see where it came from."_

_ "And? Could you?" Leo asked. _

_ "Yeah, it came from across the street, from on top of the Carman Building." _

_ "Um, guys," Mikey interjected, "that's all well and good, but if one of you isn't too busy could somebody please PULL THE ARROW OUT OF MY BED!" _

_ They all looked at him. "And you can't do it because…?" Donny asked. _

_ Mikey lifted his left leg, or tried to anyway, and his brothers saw what they'd missed before. The arrow had passed through Mikey's pajama pants, effectively pinning him to the bed. _

_ Raph burst out laughing, "Good one Mikey." _

_ "Hey, look. There's something stuck to it," Don pointed out. _

_Leo calmly walked over and yanked the arrow out of the mattress, unrolling the scroll that was tied to it. "All it has is an address," he announced. "502 Bay St." _

And that was the advanced warning that had landed them here at three o'clock in the morning. 502 Bay St. was an ocean-side warehouse, literally feet from the water. Donny could only imagine what kind of smuggling operations the Foot ran here.

"Donny look out!" While Donatello had been lost in memories, he had failed to notice the ninjas that detached from the shadows. He felt arms wrap around him from behind, and the next thing he knew he was rolling across the roof with Leo attached to his back.

Leo rolled up to his feet, keeping Donny close to his chest, so that they could both come up in a fighting stance. Leo drew his twin katanas, and Donny pulled his bo, and the two stood back to back facing the group of Foot ninjas.

"It's a good thing we remembered the masks," Donny murmured, feeling the tails of his purple mask blowing gently over his shoulder.

Without warning, the Foot ninjas surged forward. Donny blocked the swipe of a blade with his bo and fell into a crouch. He swept the feet out from under the enemy ninja and was up striking another before the first had even hit the ground.

He used his bo to pole vault out of the horde and onto a clearer section of roof. The Foot followed slowly, sizing up their opponent.

"Come on you muscle-bound morons!" Donny taunted. "You badly-dressed buffoons! You…uh…You uh…huh," Donny scratched his head. "I can't think of any other ones. I've never not been able to think of ones. Leo!" he called. "I'm out of good insults."

"You?" Leo grunted, throwing three Foot ninjas back. "That's not like you."

"I know!" Donny wailed. He spun around, catching a Foot ninja in the chin with his staff. "I'm losing my edge!" He clipped another ninja on the backswing. He blocked a wild punch with his forearm and retaliated with one of his own.

One Foot ninja managed to get around him, and Donny cried out as a kick to the back sent him tumbling towards the edge. He managed to catch himself with his bo staff and pivoted back around with a vicious kick. The ninja who had struck him flew back and landed with a thump.

Leo swept in behind him, guarding his back against further assaults. They fought in tandem, using each other to push off of and swing around. Donny was beginning to wonder if the onslaught would ever end, when the Foot suddenly melted into the shadows.

"Wha-" Leo began, but never finished as an explosion sent he and Donny over the rooftop's edge.

**The End! Of this chapter anyway. Sorry for posting this so late guys. I'll try to post it earlier next time. Later taters. Review!**


	8. Late Night Starring Leo Hamato

**Hey, guys. How's everybody? Thank you to Alura Nescire and CelestialSonata7 for reviewing. :) Yeah, I know having them say "shell" doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but I really liked that they said it in the cartoons, so I'll find some way to make it make sense. Anywho, on with the fic!**

**Disclaimer: 9. 4.15.14.'20. 15.23.14. ..  
**

The blast from the explosion created a concussion loud enough to blow the eardrums of anyone standing too close. The sudden onset of blazing, smoky air was enough to burn the skin. The force of the detonation itself shattered the windows of the buildings standing nearest, but Leo didn't have time to worry about that. He was more concerned with not falling to his death.

Leo barely managed to catch the railing of the fire escape as he plummeted down into the alley below. He silenced a groan as he felt Donny latch onto his ankle to stop his own descent. Leo swung his legs inward allowing Donny to drop onto the landing of the third floor, before swinging himself in as well.

They pressed themselves into the side of the building and listened for anymore explosions. Leo felt his racing heart slowly begin to still, as he concentrated on breathing softly. Beside him, he could feel Donny doing the same.

A few minutes passed, and neither brother heard anything other than debris settling. Leo let loose a loud breath, relaxing his tense posture. "You ok?" he asked Donny, fixing a tired gaze on his younger brother.

Donny nodded, "Yeah, just a little banged up and bruised, nothing serious." Donny reached out a hand and gently brushed a cut on Leo's forehead, "You're probably going to need stitches, or at least some super glue."

Leo smiled crookedly, "Hopefully just the super glue."

Silenced reigned for several seconds, before, "What was that all about?" Leo asked the open air in front of them.

Don answered anyway, "I have no idea. I know the Foot were here for us, but what was with the explosion? What even blew up?"

"The warehouse on the far side of this one. Was it just me, or did the Foot seem as surprised as we were?"

"No, I noticed it too. It's like they weren't expecting the explosion either."

Leo frowned, adding up the situation in his head and disliking the result, "So who blew up the building then?"

* * *

Raphael was known for sleeping soundly. He could handle earthquakes, police sirens, and even the occasional domestic dispute, but not even he could sleep through Don's ungainly entrance into their room at four o'clock this morning.

He awoke to the clatter of a bo staff, the entire contents of Don's duffle bag, and his brother hitting the ground all in one fail swoop. When he flicked on the light on his nightstand, he was greeted by the sight of a sheepish Don, attempting to untangle himself from a grappling hook cord and a rope ladder.

Raph sighed, both in irritation and in slight amusement. He slid out of bed and helped extricate his brother from the mess. As he was untangling Don's feet, he paused and sniffed the air. "Why do you smell like smoke?"

"Um, because a warehouse blew up?" Don answered hesitantly.

Raph gave him a look that clearly said "explain."

So Donny recounted the night's events, beginning with the ambush and ending with Leo and him nearly becoming one with the earth in a totally unspiritual sense.

"Are you guys all right?" Raph asked, after Donny concluded his story.

"Yeah, we're both fine. A little worse for wear maybe, but we'll both be ok."

Raph offered his brother a hand up, when they finally managed to separate his body from the equipment. Don took it and staggered to his feet wearily.

"It has been a long night," he yawned.

Raph turned him toward his bed and slapped him on the back. "Get some sleep, brainiac. We can worry about this mess in the morning."

Donny didn't even bother with replying. The second his head hit the pillow, he was out.

Raph crawled back into his bed and lay staring at the ceiling. He wanted to go back to sleep, but Donny's story was still buzzing around in his head. It raised a lot of unanswerable questions.

How had the Foot known Leo and Donny were at the warehouse? Was it just a coincidence or something else? If the Foot hadn't known about the bomb, then who planted it? Was there a third player in the game that they were totally unaware of?

This really threw a wrench into the works. It could ultimately compromise the mission. If they didn't know what they were up against, it would make the mission too dangerous to continue. Raph hoped it didn't come to that. They had already invested a lot into this mission. It would be a total waste to pull out now. Raph would just have to hope that Leo would have a plan in the morning.

* * *

Leo didn't go to bed after he and Donny got home. He was too wired to sit still, his mind too occupied by the new developments. He really needed to know who planted that bomb. The outcome of the mission rode on it. So he did the only thing he could think of.

"Hi Agent Splinter, I was hoping you could find something out for me…Yeah…Yeah, you saw it? Good, then you know where I'm talking about…I don't know if it does or not. I was hoping you could tell me…You will? Great, I'll be waiting…Yeah…Right, tomorrow then. Bye."

With at least something to go on, Leo finally entered his bed room. He smiled slightly as he saw Mikey sprawled across his own bed, limbs akimbo, head dangling close to the floor. He caught Mikey's shoulders gently and slid him back up into his bed, preventing what he was sure would have been a very stiff neck in the morning. Mikey mumbled something softly, but didn't wake up.

With that done, Leo went over to his own bed and lay down, to rest his body if not his mind. Sleep wouldn't come until he had a definite plan set. When morning came, he would know: pull the plug or finish the mission.

**Another chapter down! Woot woot! Hope you all enjoyed. Just so you know, there is a slight chance that I will not update on Monday, as per my usual schedule. You might have to wait until Tuesday. Sorry, in advance if it does come to that. Have a lovely Sunday, all. Review!**


	9. Bruisers and Brunches

**Hello, everyone. I'm so sorry for the delay. I thought I could get this up yesterday, but my political science essay informed me otherwise (Don't you hate those pushy polisci types?). Anyway, to my reviewers: you are all lovely, and I adore you. On with the fic!**

**Disclaimer: I hereby do not not disclaim the rights to not un-own this fanfic! **

Mikey sighed as he folded and put away the last of his t-shirts. _When had he ever bought this many orange shirts?_ He was still kind of shocked. Leo had pulled the plug on the mission. After everything they'd been through, after he'd gotten his butt kicked, Leo had decided it was too dangerous to continue. All because of that stupid bomb at the warehouse.

_Agent Splinter arrived at the apartment early the next morning, with April in tow. Leo was the only one awake and showed them to the kitchen table so that they could discuss their next move. _

_ "Leonardo," Splinter began, "I did as you requested and sent a team to examine the area of the explosion. The results they brought back were…troubling." He gestured to April, "Ms. O'Neil?" _

_ April opened her laptop and turned it around to show Leo. "We analyzed several samples taken from the blast site. There wasn't a whole lot left. That whole warehouse was basically demolished. It gets worse from there." She clicked through a few pictures and settled on one of a slowly rotating molecule. "After running some tests, we discovered an anomaly. This is a compound we've never seen before, and we're pretty sure the Foot aren't the ones who created it. If that's the case, then we have no idea who was responsible for the explosion." April closed her laptop and looked up to meet Leo's eye. "I'm sorry, Leo. I wish I could've brought better news." _

_ Leo smiled at her. He had only talked to this woman twice, but he had already decided he liked her. "It's ok, April. You did all you could." Leo thumped a hand down onto the table, "Shell, though, we're going to have to scrap this whole mission." _

_ April looked at him strangely, "Shell?" she questioned. _

_ "Uh," Leo hesitated, "It's something Mikey came up with. He read these comics when he was little, 'Genetically Altered Adolescent…Terrapins…" Leo trailed off blushing slightly. "It was their catch phrase," he muttered. _

_ April laughed, "I think it's cute." _

Mikey smiled, remembering the way Leo had described April's response. He had gotten kind of embarrassed, but Mikey liked their weird slang. He stuffed his last article of clothing into his duffle and zipped it up. They were moving back out of the apartment they'd moved into a week ago and heading back to The Lair today.

Mikey yawned as he wandered out into the living room, duffle slung over his shoulder. Nine wasn't really that early, but it still wasn't his favorite time of day to be up and around. Leo must have been up at six to have had his whole talk with Splinter and April before even Donny had gotten up.

Raph was dozing on the couch when Mikey plopped down next to him. Don and Leo were in the kitchen eating a quick breakfast before the car got there to drive them home. Mikey put his head in Raph's lap, intent on catching a few more minutes sleep.

Raph woke up and blinked down at him sleepily, but in a rare gesture of affection, settled for patting him on the head instead of tossing him off the couch.

A knock on the door signaled the arrival of their driver. Leo walked over to pull it open, but was instead thrown backward when the door was kicked open.

Everyone was on their feet in a second, weapons drawn. Leo rolled to his feet and charged, meeting the first intruder head on.

Mikey had been expecting The Foot, but the black unitards were conspicuously absent. Instead, these men were wearing long dark trench coats and what looked like medallions of some sort. They each also had on a pair of sunglasses.

Mikey leaped from his spot on the couch over the head of one man, spun around, and kicked him hard in the lower back. The man, however, hardly even staggered. He whirled around and caught Mikey with a glancing blow to his ribs. Mikey fell but managed to catch himself and roll out of the way of another strike.

He bounced back to his feet and twirled his nunchuks, looking for an opening. He lunged, feinted to the right, and swung upward aiming for the man's chin, but the man caught his 'chuck mid-swing and wrenched it from his grasp.

"Oh, so that's how you want it!" Mikey cried, darting forward and bringing his knee up and into the man's solar plexus. The guy doubled over and fell on his butt. "Haha," Mikey laughed, but instantly regretted letting his guard down as someone struck him from behind.

Mikey pitched forward, landing on the man he had knocked down. The man locked his arms around him in an iron grip and hauled them both back to their feet. The second guy, that had hit him from behind, swung a fist into his temple, and Mikey knew no more.

* * *

Raph was angry, and yeah, that wasn't so unusual for him, but this time he was _really_ angry. Here he'd been, happily catching a snooze on the couch, when BAM! These knuckleheads had the nerve to invade their apartment

He flung a sai at one trench coat guy and then kicked him in the head when he dodged to the side to avoid it. The guy fell away from him, and Raph moved on to the next one. He wasn't sure how many were in the apartment; he was thinking close to fifteen, but wasn't sure. Either way, they were really getting on his last nerve.

He caught a punch aimed at his head and used the guy's momentum to flip him over his shoulder. This brought him face to face with Leo, who was fighting barehanded, the space too enclosed for him to use his katanas.

"You all right?" Leo shouted over the ruckus.

"Never better," Raph replied. He landed a few punches and kicked one man back. "One question though, who the shell are these guys?"

Leo grunted, burying his elbow into the nearest stomach, "No idea. Never seen 'em before."

Raph staggered as the man he'd been trying to strangle slipped from his grasp and made a dash for the door."Hey! Where do you think you're going?" he called. He made to run after him, but stopped as another one deployed a smoke bomb.

The smoke quickly filled the apartment, leaving him and Leo gasping for breath. Raph felt his way over to the window, pulled it open, and stuck his head out. Leo joined him after a second.

"What was that all about?" he panted to Leo.

Leo just shook his head, tired of not knowing what was going on.

Raphael pulled his head back inside and looked around the hazy apartment. "Hey Mikey, Donny, you guys ok…?"

Leo pulled back inside as he caught the odd note in Raph's voice. He was about to ask what was wrong, but stopped himself as looked around the room. It was empty. Their brothers were gone.

**Ok! Done. Once again, sorry for not posting sooner. I promise I'll have the next chapter up on time. Review! **


	10. Mikey's Meantime

**Hey, all. Here's the next installment of TMNT, and on time this time, I might add. :D Thank you loyal readers for the reviews. Much appreciated. I hope you enjoy my humble offering. On with the fic!**

**Disclaimer: **One! L**i**ving by the co**d**e of the martial arts! Tw**o**! **N**ever figh**t** unless s**o**meone else starts! Three! Al**w**ays stick together **n**o ma**t**ter what! Four! If all else fails t**he**n it's ti**m**e to kick butt!

"How can you be so calm, Leo? Those whackbags took our brothers!"

"I _know_ Raph," Leo answered, his patience wearing thin, "but we can't do anything about it yet. We have no idea who those guys were. We don't even have any leads to follow!"

Raph just growled in response, pacing around the living room of The Lair like a caged animal. He and Leo had searched for hours. The second they'd realized Don and Mikey were gone, they'd rushed from the apartment. They'd scoured the area, searching for any sign of a trail, anything they could use to track the strange enemy ninjas. And they'd come up empty. There was nothing to follow, no footprints, no cars, not even a cheesy scrap of fabric like they always found in movie scenes. Their brothers were just gone.

After the hours of frustrating dead ends, the two older brothers had returned home. Leo had called Agent Splinter straight off the bat, and the agent put together an immediate response team that was attempting to find the missing teens as well.

"Maybe Splinter's had better luck than we did," Leo suggested.

"You know he would've called by now if he found anything," Raph answered sharply.

"Yeah," Leo sunk down into the couch, "Yeah, I know. I just, I can't believe this. How could I let them be taken? It's my job to keep you guys safe, and I messed up. I _really_ messed up."

"Leo," Raph tried, crouching down in front of his brother and placing his hands on his knees. "You did everything you could. There's no way you could've stopped them. They caught us by surprise."

Leo stared at him, unconvinced. "It's my job, Raph, as team leader to make sure we're never caught by surprise. I'm the idiot who went to open the door without even checking who it was first. I was completely careless. In this job, we can't afford to make mistakes like that. I can't afford to make mistakes like that… I just hate that it's not me that has to pay the price," he finished softly.

Raph sighed, knowing there was nothing he could do to change his brother's mind. He wouldn't even begin to see sense until Mikey and Donny were back safe. He settled for patting Leo's knee and straightening up.

"I don't know about all that Leo, seein' as how I'm only the second in command, and I don't try to worry about every little thing at once, but I do know this: we are going to find these guys, and when we do, they are going to be in a world of hurt."

* * *

Mikey slowly cracked his eyes open, wincing at the light that suddenly seemed to be everywhere. He gingerly reached behind his head and felt the giant lump swelling there. He pulled his fingers back and was pleasantly surprised to find they didn't have any blood on them. That was one thing at least.

Next he attempted to sit up, which after a few tries and failed attempts, he managed. He set his back against the white wall and took in his surroundings. There wasn't much to see. White wall. White wall. White wall. And he looked slowly, left to right, yep, white wall. _How did I even get in here?_ he thought.

There was no door, no windows, no trapdoors or moveable ceiling tiles that he could see. It was just one big white box…until it wasn't. The wall Mikey was leaning against suddenly disappeared. One second it was there, the next it wasn't.

Mikey fell backward with a yelp, smacking his already bruised head on the hard floor. He groaned, curling up into a ball and holding his head. He jerked when he felt hands on him and scuttled around like a turtle on its back trying to get away from whoever was touching him. This of course only made his headache worse and made him quite dizzy as well.

"Mikey. Mikey! MIKEY!"

Michelangelo finally realized that someone was shouting at him, and not just any someone. "Donny!" Mikey cried. "What are you doing here?" He uncurled himself and slowly tried to sit up again.

Donny shifted around him and helped him sit up. "I was about to ask you the same question. One minute I was in this cell alone, the next thing I know one of the walls faded out, and you popped up, or fell over, I suppose."

"Oh, so you saw that too? Good. I was starting to think I hit my head harder than I thought."

"You hit your head? Here let me see." Donny carefully examined Mikey's head and pronounced it nothing more than a bump. "You'll be fine as soon as the swelling goes down."

"Just great," Mikey grumbled. "Now I can add giant lump on my head to my list of injuries, which include weird, hand-shaped bruise on my chest and slowly-turning-green bruise on my face."

Donny laughed, "Don't get hurt so much then."

Mikey just stuck his tongue out at him, "Easy for you to say. You're not everyone's favorite punching bag."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Donny answered dryly. He slowly drew up his dark purple shirt to reveal a darkening bruise across his side. "I took a few knocks too."

"Oh god, Donny, I'm sorry. I didn't even ask." Mikey scrambled around to get a better look at the injury. "Are you ok? Do any of your ribs feel broken?"

"I'm fine, Mikey," Donny said, amused by his brother's concern. "I know getting hurt is your thing…and Leo's…and Raph's, now that I think about it…Urgh, ok. I know I don't get hurt as often as you guys do, but that doesn't mean I can't handle it."

"I know, Don. I didn't mean it like that. It's just you're the one always fixing people. It's weird to think that you need fixing sometimes too."

Donny chuckled and wrapped his arm around Mikey's shoulders, "We all need fixing sometimes, little brother."

Mikey let loose a burst of laughter, "How corny are you right now, dude? That sounds like something Master Splinter would say."

"Hey! I can sound wise and you know, sage and stuff."

"Yeah, whatever dude."

They were both silent for a moment, before Donny said, "Here let's scoot back against this wall. Hopefully it won't disappear like the other one."

They settled back against the wall and got comfortable. Don kept his arm around Mikey's shoulders and let Mikey lean against him. He rested his own cheek against Mikey's unruly hair, taking comfort in the fact that he had at least one person with him he could trust.

"Do you know what happened to us, Don?" Mikey asked quietly. "I don't remember anything after getting up this morning."

"I don't remember much past that. Someone attacked us. It wasn't The Foot, but I don't know who else would be gunning for us."

"Do you think they got Raph and Leo too?"

"I don't know, Mikey. I really don't know."

**Fin! So ends another glorious installment in the story that you know has everyone at the edge of their seats. What will next day's chapter bring? What will become of our dashing heroes? Did anyone else notice that the review button changed? All this and more in the next exciting chapter of TMNT! **


	11. April's Sunset Adventure

**Hello, loyal readers. How is everyone this evening? I've gotten a few compliments on my disclaimers, and I just wanted to say thanks. :) I try to come up with a different one for each chapter, so I'm glad you guys appreciate them. On a side note, I think I liked the old review button better; I don't care for this new one. Anywho, thanks once again for the reviews. On with the fic!**

**Disclaimer: }}O }}O I do own these turtles, }}O }}O but not the other four. **

April O'Neil liked to think of herself as a smart woman. She'd gone to college, gotten a degree, landed a prestigious job for a top secret organization. She could probably count on the fingers of one hand all the stupid decisions she'd made in her life. Well, she'd have to add one more to that list.

"Casey Jones!" she shrieked. "I swear if you do not slow this bike down _this instant_ I will- Auuughhhhh!" Her threat was lost in Casey's sudden sharp turn down a narrow street.

"Sorry," Casey apologized, glancing at her over his shoulder, after he leveled the bike out. "Were you saying something, babe?"

"Do not call me babe!" April ordered. She shook her head. She couldn't believe she'd gotten mixed up with this big ape. If only she hadn't felt so worried about the guys…Guys? When had they become "the guys" to her? She'd only met most of them once, Leo twice. When had she started caring about them? When she'd laughed at Mikey's first joke? When Don had brightened because she'd mentioned that she'd majored in advanced mathematics? When she'd met Raph's piercing gaze and somehow managed not to flinch? When she'd felt guilty because she wasn't more help to Leo?

April gnawed her bottom lip, worry coursing through her, and not just because of Casey's bad driving. When she'd received the call this morning, a sick feeling of dread had taken up residence in her stomach. The moment was frozen, crystal clear, in her memory.

_April picked up the phone in her apartment after the third ring, "Hello, O'Neil residence, April speaking." _

_ "Ms. O'Neil, this is Agent Splinter. I'm sorry to disturb you at home."_

_ "Oh, it's no trouble Agent. How can I help you?" _

_ "It is about Team Renaissance. There was an altercation at their assigned residence. Michelangelo and Donatello were taken by unknown, hostile agents." _

_ April gasped, one hand coming up to cover her mouth._

_ "As of yet, we have been unable to recover them. I was hoping you could assist me by joining the search. I realize you are not a field agent, but our resources are stretched very thin at the moment, and we could use all available personnel." _

_ "Of course, Agent Splinter, I'd be happy to help." _

_ "Good. I will send someone for you. He will bring you to the current base of operations." _

Casey certainly wasn't what April had been expecting, nor was his motorcycle. She'd envisioned a man in a black suit, with sunglasses and maybe a bowler hat, but Casey's sweatpants and tank top were a far cry from anything so formal. At least he had had the foresight to bring two helmets.

April fought the urge to scream again as Casey screeched to a stop in front of an average-looking antique store. She climbed stiffly off the bike and undid the helmet strap with shaking hands.

She glared daggers at Casey when he took it from her, and he smiled sheepishly. "Guess you're not a fan of motorcycles, huh?" he asked.

She didn't bother with an answer. April spun on her heel and proceeded into the antique shop. She was met inside by a man who directed her to the stairwell and to the second floor.

"Hey ba-April, wait up!" Casey called. "Hey," Casey caught her wrist halfway up the stairs and pulled her to a stop. "I'm sorry about the wild driving, ok? I'm not used to having passengers."

April felt her anger fade a little at the genuine apology, "It's all right. I guess I'm just a little on edge given the current situation."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Those guys sure know how to get in trouble."

April and Casey continued up to the second floor and into an apartment. Agent Splinter nodded at them as they came in, but continued a conversation he was having over the phone.

"So, I'm sorry if this comes across offensive, but you don't really seem the type to be working for TMNT," April commented.

Casey shrugged, "I don't work for 'em exactly. I'm more like a…consultant. Sometimes they call me in for certain types of jobs. I know my way around the streets, and that can come in real handy sometimes." Casey ran a hand through his long hair. "Plus, I've known these guys a while, and we've gotten to be pretty good friends. Me and Raph go way back. We understand each other."

April nodded.

"What about you? How'd you get mixed up in all this?"

"Well, I originally got hired on as research and development. You know, designing gadgets, providing tech support, stuff like that, but last week we were short-staffed, and one of the higher ups asked me to give a mission debriefing to some field agents. That's how I met the guys. Since then, I've stayed working the case from behind the scenes. When Agent Splinter called asking for my help, I just couldn't say no."

Casey opened his mouth to say something, but stopped as Agents Splinter joined them.

"Mr. Jones, Ms. O'Neil, I see that you made it. Come, I will discuss my strategy with you." Splinter led them over to a sitting area and indicated a map of New York spread out on the table. "I have broken the city up into a grid and have been assigning sections to each team. I would like you two to search blocks A3 to D4. I realize it is a lot of ground to cover, but I am confident you two can handle it.

"Additionally, to assist you in your search, I have requisitioned a number of tracker apparatuses. My agents should have been wearing concealed trackers on their persons. Under normal circumstances they are undetectable, unlike average GPS units, but this also means that they broadcast a much shorter signal. To pick up this signal you must come within a mile of the tracker. Do you understand?" Splinter held out the circular apparatus, and April took it.

It was fairly lightweight and fit comfortably in the palm of her hand. She took a minute to familiarize herself with the device, flicking through the different options on the touch screen, before returning to the map that showed the location they were responsible for patrolling.

Splinter bid them good bye and good luck, and Casey and April headed back out onto the street.

Casey held out the extra helmet to April, but held onto it when she reached for it. "I'll try to drive slower this time."

April smiled, "You better, Jones. I'd hate to have to go all secret agent on you."

"Oh really?" Casey asked, swinging onto the bike. "You think you could take me?"

April slid on behind him, "Let's hope you never have to find out."

Casey revved the engine, and the two pulled out into the night, ready to find their friends.

**Ta da! I really like Casey and April. They're two of my favorite supporting characters in the cartoon universe. As always, expect an update sometime on Tuesday. Review!**


	12. Dungeon Dawning

**Sup, homies? In short order: Thanks for reviews. Thanks for reading. Enjoy! :D**

**Disclaimer: **

**Lawyerese: The party of the first part, hereby referred to as the "author," relinquishes all ownership rights to any and all content related to in part or in full to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Industry Incorporated, its parent companies, and its affiliates. **

**McDonald's: Welcome to McDonald's. May I take your order? Would you like the rights to a multimillion dollar franchise with that?**

Leonardo perched on a rooftop, eyes fixed on a building across the street: the TCRI building. He'd received a call from Agent Splinter a half an hour ago telling him that his brothers' trackers had been located. Casey and April had pinpointed their location to this skyscraper.

The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon. Don and Mikey had been missing for almost a day. Leonardo hated to think what could have happened to them in that amount of time. They didn't know anything about these new adversaries. At least with The Foot, Leo knew what to expect, what to prepare himself for, but now…He shook his head, refocusing himself on the task at hand. Worrying would get him nowhere now. He had a plan and a job to do. Nothing would get between him and saving his family.

"Come on, Leo," Raph pushed. "They're right there." Raph was staring anxiously at the building, thinly masking his concern. "Our baby bros need us, and _they're right there_. Why can't we go already?"

"It's not time yet," Leo answered. He badly wanted to breach protocol too and just storm the building in search of his brothers, but he knew the success of this rescue operation depended on the details. If they moved even thirty seconds early, it could jeopardize everything. "We've only got a couple more minutes then we can go."

Leo clenched and unclenched his fists. He was tingling with pent up energy, but unlike Raphael, his was carefully contained. He would hold it, expending only the necessary amount to get the job done. He kept himself tightly reined in, always in control. He wanted his brothers back as badly as Raph did, but his thirst for vengeance would be better used as fuel for his stratagem than fuel for his fists.

Leo watched the last few seconds tick slowly by before rising from his crouch. "Now we move."

* * *

Donatello was going crazy. The white room was so bright; it had seared itself into his retinas. Even when he closed his eyes it was all he could see. The nonexistent lighting stung like the glare of fluorescent lights. The temperature never changed. It wasn't hot. It wasn't cold. It just _was. _The room was sterile, an empty vastness. Four walls of nothing and nowhere to go. And worst of all? They took Mikey.

_Donatello woke up slowly. He blinked sleepily before he remembered what happened. Attacked, kidnapped, locked in a colorless box. He looked down at the warm body weighing against his side. Mikey was pressed closely against him, his face turned into Donny's chest, mouth open just enough to allow him to drool. _

_ Donny grimaced but didn't move. What was a little drool between brothers? _

_ He wriggled his toes and rolled his shoulders a little. He was stiff, but had no idea how long he'd been sitting here. They'd been stripped of all their gear and left only in their jeans, t-shirts, and socks. Don could only hope that the trackers were still transmitting. They were specially designed to send a signal under almost any circumstances, but still…He decided not to dwell on it. Leo and Raph would find them trackers or no trackers. He was sure of it. _

_ Don sat and stared at the wall, idly drumming his fingers against his leg. After an indeterminate amount of time, he felt Mikey stirring against him. _

_ Mikey sat up groggily and rubbed at his eyes. He yawned and stretched his arms over his head. "Morning, I guess," he said, turning to Donny. _

_ Donny smiled, "Yeah, morning. Sleep ok?" _

_ "Yeah, under the circumstances," Mikey laughed. "You? How're your ribs?" _

_ Don shrugged, "No better, no worse. Can't do much about it either way." _

_ Mikey nodded. "Do you hear something?" he asked suddenly._

_ "Yeah," Donny answered, confusion in his voice. "What is that?" The brothers leaped up, eyes sweeping the room for the cause of the disturbance._

_ A strange humming was filling the room. The floor and walls were vibrating ever so slightly. _

_ "It sounds almost like electricity, like a generator," Donny said thoughtfully. _

_All at once the humming intensified, sending a powerful jolt through the two boys. With twin cries of pain, Mikey and Donny crumpled to the floor. Mikey passed out on contact, but Donny stayed awake, hanging somewhere between awareness and oblivion. _

_ A whoosh sounded from behind them, and the room was intersected by a rectangle of golden light. Footfalls sounded on the strange, white flooring, and Donny tensed as he realized they were heading for Mikey. _

_ He struggled feebly, barely managing to twitch a fingertip. The men lifted Mikey's inert body from the floor and loaded him onto a hovering stretcher. They glanced at Donny, but made no move toward him. They pushed the stretcher from the room, and another whoosh eclipsed the golden light, leaving Donny alone. _

At Donny's best guess, Mikey had been gone an hour. Donny knew he wasn't dead. If these strange men had wanted to kill them, they would have done it hours ago. This thought was cold comfort, though. There was a plethora of things that were worse than death, and many of them could be accomplished in less than an hour.

Donny strived to force these thoughts from his head, but was unsuccessful. Visions of mutilation and experimentation filled his thoughts. Mikey coming back, cut to pieces, missing limbs. So many awful _things_ they could be doing to him. Donatello was a scientist. He understood medical practices. On one side, science could save lives, on the other, advanced medical knowledge was a gateway to any number of unthinkable tortures.

Could they have been made? Discovered as agents of TMNT? Were they going to be pumped for information? Is that what Mikey was enduring right now? Torture at the hands of professionals was every agent's worst fear. Sure, they'd been trained in anti-interrogation techniques, but that only exposed them to the horrors of illicit questioning methods. It was fuel for nightmares.

Just as Don was sure his mind was about to burst from anxiety, the door slid open and admitted a single figure.

**Done! One more down! Woo! Review!**


	13. Raph Enters the Twilight Zone

**Hello, readers. Thanks once again to my ever-consistent reviewers; you're all awesome. I have a question for you guys though. I've been trying to keep the chapters spread out between the characters. I know it's third person, but each chapter is kind of from the perspective of a different character. Do you think I'm accomplishing that? Are there too many chapters from any one character? Anyway, here's the next chapter. Bon appétit!**

**P.S. I have FCMD too!**

**Disclaimer: You have just crossed over into the TMNT zone, where the author does own things. Ooooooo Eeeeeeee Ooooooooo!**

Michelangelo pitched forward through the doorway. He was groggy and disoriented, still suffering the effects of the electric shock. The past hour was a total blur, a mix of colors and sensations. He couldn't have accurately recounted the past sixty minutes of his life if he wanted to.

He was aware that he was about to face-plant, but honestly didn't care. The brief pain from impact was preferable to remaining vertical for even another second, but it never came to that. Just as he was certain he was about to hit the floor, he felt arms wrap around him. His fall was cushioned by another body, and he and whoever had caught him sank to the floor in a tangle of limbs.

He felt himself being turned over and looked up into his brother's face, Don's dark curls giving him a strange anti-halo effect. "Donny?" Mikey croaked uncertainly.

"Yeah, Mikey. It's me. I'm right here,"

Mikey felt Don gently brush his hair back from his face. He opened his mouth, but closed it as he started to cough.

"Shh," Donny chided. "Don't talk. You can tell me what happened later."

Donny was being oddly careful with him, speaking softly and treating him as if he was made of glass. Mikey wanted to ask him why, what had happened, but couldn't get his brain to focus on the thought long enough to make a coherent sentence.

He felt Don slide an arm under his shoulders and one under his legs. The next thing he knew, he was cradled in his brother's arms and they were moving slowly across the room. Don set him down in the corner farthest from the door, charily leaning him against the wall. Don then took a seat in front of him, between Mikey and the door.

When Don next spoke, there was a note of steel in his voice that Mikey had never heard before.

"Don't worry, Mikey. Everything's going to be ok. I won't let them take you again."

* * *

Raphael tilted his bow up a few degrees before letting the arrow fly. It penetrated the roof of the opposite building with a quiet _snick_.

Leo meticulously checked their end of the rope one last time before giving Raph the signal.

Raph clipped himself to the line and jumped from the edge of the roof, rappelling swiftly to the TCRI building. Leo followed suit moments later. If everything was going according to plan, Casey and April should have security on this roof disabled, and he and Leo should be ok to breach the building. When no alarms sounded, Raph and Leo got to work.

It didn't take much to gain access from the roof. Building specifications showed some kind of exhaust port that emptied out from up here. Raph jimmied it open with one of his sais, and he and Leo were in.

They dropped down into some kind of hallway. It was eerily nondescript. Four walls, metal flooring, and doors lining either side, but there were no pictures, no decorations of any kind; it was very utilitarian. Raph was immediately creeped out.

He and Leo inched down the hallway, alert for any noise or sign of movement. They were looking for the elevator. From what little intel they had to go on, they figured their best bet was to start on the second floor. That was where the security rooms were located. If they could get to the cameras, chances were they could find the room there brothers were being held in. With luck, they would be together. If not, well, Raph and Leo were prepared to split up. The plan being that Raph would take whoever they found first and get him out of the building, while Leo continued the search.

"What is up with this place?" he whispered to Leo. "First April couldn't even dig up any info on these guys, and now we're in this Twilight Zone? Don't these goons know how to decorate?"

"Can it, Raph," Leo hissed back. "So they didn't go shopping at IKEA. I think that's the least of our problems right now.

Both ninjas disappeared as they heard a door at the end of the hall open. Leo darted down an adjoining hallway, and Raph stretched out across the ceiling, looking down on the men's heads as they passed underneath. He caught a snippet of conversation.

"-experiment went well. They found a match."

"That's great. Maybe we can finally get them moved…"

The voices drifted off as the men continued down the hall.

Raph dropped back down and Leo stepped out of the shadows.

"Come on, let's keep moving," he ordered.

After several long minutes of searching, they finally found the elevator. Leo and Raph quickly stepped inside, but paused as they caught sight of the button panel. None of the buttons were marked. There were rows and columns of circular buttons, but not a single number.

"How the shell does anyone know how to get around here?" Raph fumed. "How're we gonna get to the second floor?"

"Uh," Leo hesitated. He pushed a button experimentally. The doors zipped closed and the next thing they knew they were plummeting to the ground. The brothers were glued to the ceiling as the elevator continued its manic descent. It slowed just enough to stop them from being crushed by the fall, before the doors opened on a floor identical to the one they'd just left.

"Gah!" Raph yelled, "This place doesn't make any sense!"

"Raph!" Leo yelped, "Shut up!" he clapped a hand over his brother's mouth and dragged him through a door, just as one down the hall opened.

Leo and Raph leaned against the door, breathing shakily. Raph didn't even try to throw off Leo's hand. They heard voices coming from just outside the door.

"You don't think somebody got in do you?"

"I don't know. There was that nut job down in the lobby earlier. Could somebody have slipped past in all the commotion?"

"Doubtful. Should we review the security footage just to be sure though?"

"Yes, that would be prudent."

At this Leo and Raph turned to look at each other. If they could follow these two, they'd lead them straight to the security room. As soon as they heard the men move away from the door, Leo cracked it open. The two men were walking down the hallway. They turned around a corner, and Leo and Raph stepped out.

"They went this way," Leo motioned. Raph and Leo trailed the two men through a maze of corridors before following them into yet another unmarked door.

The room was a techno-nerd's dream. An entire wall was covered with camera shots from all over the building. The room was full of pieces from computers, an array of tools. Holograms rotated slowly, mounted on pedestals throughout the room.

Raph was unconcerned with all of this, though. His eyes were glued to the screens, seeking out the two people he knew had to be there somewhere. Sure enough, near the top right corner of monitors, he saw two familiar faces in a stark, white room. Raph nudged Leo, indicating what he'd seen, and the two slipped silently from the room.

As soon as they were away from the door and in a secluded hallway, Raph spoke, "The stamp in the corner said floor 14 room 45."

"Got it. Now we just have to find our way back to the elevator, hopefully push the right button, and find room 45 on a floor full of unmarked rooms."

Raph grinned, "Should be easy then."

**And so concludes chapter 12 of TMNT. The new review button is sad 'cause no one likes it. You should click on it to make it feel better. :) **


	14. Leo in Limbo

**Sup, y'all? New chapter. Read it. It's the stuff. ;)**

**Disclaimer: (Don't worry. It's here. It's just invisible.)**

Raph and Leo huddled in a hallway, completely lost, having wandered around for almost ten minutes with no sign of the elevator.

Leo turned a slow circle, "I could've sworn we went this way…" he trailed off uncertainly.

Raph just huffed and leaned against the wall. "Leo, we need to figure this out and soon. We ain't got all day."

"Well what would you propose we do? We can't exactly ask for directions."

Raph sighed, "I don't know. You're the leader. You think of something."

Leo gritted his teeth. He would love to take a page out of Raph's book and slap him upside the head, but something, maybe his natural big brother instinct, held him back, but just barely.

Leo instead marched around the corner, more determined than ever to find that elevator, if only to shut Raph up. Suffice it to say, he was completely shocked to find it waiting just around the corner. "Found it," he announced with a smirk."

"Took you long enough," was all he got in response.

Leo tamped down his frustration and followed Raph into the elevator.

"How do we find the right floor again?" Raph asked.

"Um, well, last time I just pushed the second button from the left, assuming that they would be in order even though they weren't numbered."

"Ok, so…" Raph counted over and up to what should be the fourteenth button and pressed it. The elevator shot up, once again at lightning speed, gluing the brothers to the floor. The abrupt stop sent them flying to their feet and they stumbled drunkenly out the doors.

"I really hate that thing," Raph moaned.

Leo ignored him and walked slowly down the hallway. "We need to find room 45. I suppose we'll just have to go down each hall and try every door we come across. I don't see any other way to do it."

Raph nodded his assent and they proceeded down the hallway. Leo opened the doors on the left and Raph the ones on the right. Whenever they came to an intersection, they always turned left, and Leo marked the wall with one of his katana. It was slow going, but at least this ensured that they didn't miss anything.

The rooms, for the most part, were empty. Some were small enough to be storage closets, others were large enough to be ballrooms. Some were painted, some were completely encased in metal, others were completely white. The white ones were the strangest. They were always different sizes, and Leo would swear he saw one change size even as he was peering into it. It was very strange.

As they came to yet another hallway intersection, Raph finally loosed his frustrations. "Urgh," he grunted slamming his fist into a wall. "Where are they? We've been searching for over two hours and come up with diddly squat," he leaned his head against the wall, shoulders, heaving.

Leo laid a hand on his shoulder, grasping it comfortingly. "Don't worry, Raph. They've got to be close by. I can't imagine it will take us much longer to finish searching the floor. The cameras wouldn't lie. They have to be here somewhere."

"I know, Leo," Raph answered softly. "I just get to thinking what could've been happening to them while they've been here, and I get so worked up. What if they hurt them? What if they've been, you know, torturing them or something? They could be really messed up. Nothing like this has ever happened before. I can't…if something did happen…I don't know what I'll do if…"

Leo cut him off by squeezing his shoulder, "I know, Raph, me too."

Raph let out a long, slow breath and straightened up.

"Good?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. Let's find them."

The brothers continued down the hall, keeping to their pattern, Leo on the left and Raph on the right. Just as Leo was beginning to despair that they had ended up on the wrong floor, he swung open another door and stopped in his tracks.

"Don! Mikey!" he yelled excitedly.

Raph flew over, nearly slamming into Leo's back in his haste.

Don stood up slowly and stiffly, but was grinning widely. Leo ran over and embraced him, hugging his brother close. "Are you ok?" he asked, anxiously. He pulled back and scanned his brother for injuries. He appeared to be ok. His clothes were rumpled, and he wasn't wearing any shoes, but other than that, no obvious signs of injury.

"I'm fine, Mom," Don returned, jokingly.

Leo laughed and passed him off to Raph, who also hugged him tightly.

Mikey had just finished pulling himself to his feet when Leo grabbed him too. Mikey wrapped his arms around Leo's neck and held on, burying his face in his brother's shoulder.

"Mikey?" Leo asked uncertainly.

"I'm ok," Mikey mumbled into Leo's blue shirt. "Donny and I were just so worried. We didn't know what happened to you guys. We thought maybe you got captured too."

Leo gently rubbed Mikey's back. "Nah, we're fine. Raph and I have been searching for you guys actually, with help from Splinter, Casey, and April of course."

"Really?" Mikey asked, finally letting go, "April came to help too?"

"Yeah," Leo nodded, smiling, "She was really worried about you guys."

Mikey grinned and rubbed absently at his arm. Leo noticed this and gasped, "Mikey, what happened?"

Mikey looked down at his arm and the strange inflamed area he'd been rubbing at. "I don't know. It happened while we've been here. Don said some guys came in and took me out on a stretcher. He thinks I was gone about an hour, but I don't remember any of it," Mikey admitted all of this with a pained grimace. "I have no idea what they did to me, Leo."

Leo hugged him again, "Everything's going to be fine. We'll get you guys home and go from there. I'm sure Agent Splinter can set us up with a medical team, and we can figure it out."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that."

**Woot! I didn't think I'd get this one finished in time, but I did! Aw-yeah. Review!**


	15. MidMorning Standoff

**Hello, readers. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I always appreciate the constructive criticism. Here's the newest installment to everyone's favorite story. Enjoy. **

**Disclaimer: Side effects of Fanficion may include: New Update Giddiness Effect (NUGE), Story Discontinuation Depression Syndrome (SDDS), and Author Delusion Disorder (the other ADD). If anyone you know is experiencing any of these symptoms, please contact their face with your hand and inform them that nothing on fanfiction is real, including ownership rights. **

Raph whipped around, startled by the foreign voice. Standing in the doorway, backed by three of the men in suits, was a man in a lab coat.

"I'm sorry, gentlemen," he reiterated, "but I can't let you leave."

"The shell you can't," Raph barked, staring him down. His hands went automatically down to his sais, drawing them in one swift motion. He shifted slightly, positioning himself in front of Don. These freaks had taken his brothers once; he'd be damned if he let them lay so much as a finger on them again.

Don stepped up and around Raph, "I appreciate the thought," he said, "but I can take care of myself." Don slipped casually into a stance, prepared to fight barehanded, as his bo staff had been confiscated.

Raph glanced sideways at him, but didn't protest.

Behind the two, Leo slid his katanas from their scabbards. He was about to lead the charge, but paused when he realized Mikey was slumped against the wall.

"Mikey?" he asked, hand on his shoulder.

"I feel weird Leo," Mikey said lowly, "like I can hardly stand."

Leo took in Mikey's flushed face and pale, waxy complexion and made a snap decision. He sheathed his right-hand katana and wrapped his arm around Mikey's waist. "Just hold onto me and stay close."

Mikey slid his arm around Leo's shoulders and fastened his hand to a fistful of shirt.

Raph heard the exchange between his two brothers and knew he'd have to cover them, if they all wanted to make it out of there in mostly one piece. He rushed forward, sais twirling and eyes flashing. He had some half baked idea of grabbing the scientist and using him as leverage, but was drawn up short when the wall in front of him disappeared, admitting at least twenty more trench-coated men.

"Aw crud," he groaned.

The man in the lab coat remained unruffled. He calmly took another step into the room. "Do not make me say this again: you can not leave this facility. It is imperative that you understand why we brought you here in the first place."

Raph opened his mouth to tell the man exactly where he could stick his explanation, but Don beat him to it. "And what, _pray tell_, could possibly possess you to kidnap two teenage boys and imprison them in this demented fun house? Do you know how many felonies you've committed? You've held us here for at least a day, knocked us unconscious, and done SHELL KNOWS WHAT TO MY BABY BROTHER! YOU HONESTLY THINK YOU CAN EXPLAIN ALL THAT!" Don's chest heaved as he finished his rant.

Raph grinned at him appreciatively, "Didn't know you had it in you, Donny."

Donny just shook his head, breathing hard.

"You heard 'em," Raph hooked a thumb at Donny, "there any answer good enough to justify all that?"

"Yes, a very good one, actually," the scientist replied, "but before I elaborate, is there any way we could put the weapons down? Contrary to what you may believe, we don't want to hurt anyone."

The brothers all exchanged glances. After a moment Leo nodded, and he and Raph re-sheathed their weapons. Donny dropped his stance and straightened up. Mikey just made an effort not to puke.

"Ok," Leo ordered. "Talk."

"My name is Dr. Morris. Originally, I sent my men to have a chat with you. They were not supposed to engage you in combat. However, between the time this order was given and when the plan was enacted, we received some disturbing information. A source informed me that two of you were seen in a Foot recruitment group. At this, the plan changed. We were no longer sure if you would react hostilely or not, or even if you would agree to talk to my men."

"Why did you need to speak with us?" Leo interrupted.

"I'm getting to that. As we could no longer be sure you were approachable, we switched to plan B. I ordered my men to come back with two of you, but I gave explicit instructions that none of you were to be harmed."

"What did you do to Mikey then?" Raph shouted.

Dr. Morris disregarded his outburst, "As you can see, no one was seriously injured. Although, the procedure we performed on Michelangelo has complicated things a bit."

"Buddy," Raph started, taking a threatening step forward, "I don't like being ignored. You've got five seconds to tell me what you did to my brother or so help me I will-"

"We had to take a sample of bone marrow," Dr. Morris interjected smoothly.

Donny jerked at this, making eye contact with the scientist. "Bone marrow? What do you want with Mikey's bone marrow?"

"We had to test it. We're looking for a specific match. We knew one of you four had to be closely related to the sample we need, genetically speaking anyway. Unfortunately, Michelangelo had a reaction to the anesthetic that we used, as evidenced by the inflamed area on his arm there. The disorientation and nausea should wear off within a few hours, a day at the most."

Raph took a few steps back to stand beside Mikey and Leo. He gently grasped Mikey's arm and examined it for himself. He met Mikey's eyes and Mikey gave him a small smile.

Don, on the other hand, continued to stare at Dr. Morris. "Is he a match?"

Dr. Morris shifted his gaze from Raph and Mikey to Donatello, "I beg your pardon?"

"Mikey. Is he a match?"

"Yes, fortunately we got it in one. We won't even need to test the rest of you."

Don wasn't finished, however, "You said that one of the four of us had the best chance of being a close genetic match to the sample that you have. Normally, only close relatives are matches for bone marrow. Siblings are usually your best bet for a match. As far as I know, the four of us are the only family we have. Why did you think we would be a match for whoever you're looking for?"

Dr. Morris smiled, "Boys, what would you say if I told you your parents weren't dead?"

**Muahahaha! Fin! Review!**


	16. Lunch in a Lab

**Greetings, all. Here's the next chapter. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Have at it. **

**Disclaimer: If I were as tech savvy as April, I might be able to finagle some ownership rights, but I'm not, so there you go. **

Mikey walked slowly forward and pressed a hand to the glass. The glass was warm, pleasant against his hand. It was smooth, almost no texture to it at all. It was practically invisible, so clear he could see straight through to the other side. Well, he could've seen straight to the other side, if it weren't for the body in the way.

He stepped back, grimacing. It was surprisingly grotesque seeing his parents floating in those tubes like that, partially wrapped in what looked like tentacles. He supposed they were his parents anyway; he didn't really have a clear recollection of them. Leo seemed to though; maybe that's why he was hanging so far back.

The woman, Mom he supposed, had shoulder-length red hair, a smattering of freckles, and tiny hands. He noticed she was missing a pinky toe. _I wonder if I'll ever get to ask her about that. _Dad, whoa that sounded weird, had short dark hair, black or maybe brown. He had a scar on his stomach. _I wonder if he had his appendix taken out like I did. _They both looked so normal. Mikey didn't know what he'd expected. Expectations and reality never really matched up though, did they?

Mikey walked back to where his brothers were standing, looking around the cavernous room as he did so. Donny had said the room was a mix of organic and inorganic construction. Half-alive-half-not, he'd explained after all he'd received was blank stares.

Donny asked Dr. Morris about it, saying that he'd never seen anything like it. Dr. Morris had been evasive. When Don pressed him, he'd said it was a story for another time. Mikey bet it was a shelluva story too.

"With this sample of bone marrow," Dr. Morris was saying as Mikey approached, "we should be able to finally let them out of the cryogenic chambers."

"If all you needed was some bone marrow, why did you wait until now to get into contact with us?" Leo asked.

"We couldn't locate you four until now. We've been searching since the accident, but it was as if you boys had vanished. It wasn't until a month ago that we finally discovered you were living right here in New York. We got a hit on our database from a traffic camera."

"Must've been when you got that ticket from running that red light, Raphie," Mikey laughed, nudging Raph in the ribs.

Raph shoved him, but Mikey just laughed again. He was glad he could laugh without throwing up. The nausea had finally worn off, and he could even see straight again. It was nice.

"How long will the procedure take?" Donny asked.

"We're not sure. We've never dealt with anything of this type before. Frankly, we were astonished that we were even able to stabilize them after the accident at all."

"What did happen?" Mikey interrupted. "No one ever told us about the accident. What?" Mikey asked when all his brothers turned to glare at him. "It's not like you guys didn't want to ask the same thing."

"Well," Dr. Morris began, "your parents were working on an energy generation project in conjunction with a team from our labs. They were interested in creating a fuel cell capable of extended deep space propulsion. The problem of course was designing a fuel that was easily replenish-able. What with this country's dependency on fossil fuels, not much has been done in the way of alternate sources.

"It was very surprising, then, when they made a breakthrough. Your parents spearheaded the research, and rightly so as they were the ones to come up with the idea. They discovered a sort of gelatinous compound that was ten thousand times more powerful than rocket fuel. An ounce of this could do more than a ton of the highest grade fossil fuel. The only drawback was that it was highly mutagenic.

"Your parents attempted to correct this problem. To this day, we are not sure where they went wrong. They asked that the labs be cleared, just as a precaution mind you, because they were not 100% sure of what the results of their attempt would be. As it turns out, they were devastating. Three entire floors were wiped out. When we discovered your parents…They were not as, shall we say, _whole_ as what you see before you now. Their current bodies are the result of more than a decade's efforts," here Dr. Morris paused, eyes glazing over. He was quiet for a second before seeming to snap out of whatever memories he'd been lost in.

"That is neither here nor there, I suppose. Anyway, that brings us up to the present. With this last bit of genetic material, donated so generously by Michelangelo, we should be able to complete our treatments and bring your parents back."

The boys all looked at one another. They were shell-shocked, to put it mildly. A week ago, they'd been orphans, living the only life they'd ever known. Today, they had parents. Their little family of four was halfway to doubling in size.

"Could you excuse us a moment Dr. Morris?" Leonardo inquired politely. "I think my brothers and I need a minute to process."

_Process is putting it mildly, _Mikey thought.

Leo pulled them off to the side, "Huddle up guys."

Mikey stretched his arms over Raph's and Donny's shoulders, looking across their small circle at Leo.

"I know this is a lot to take in," Leo said softly, "Between everything that's happened to us recently, it's just…Wow." Leo was at a loss for words, a rarity for him. "I don't know about you guys, but I never saw this day coming."

"It did seem highly improbable," Don spoke up.

"I know what you mean," Raph added.

"Just think about it guys," Mikey said dreamily, "Mom can bake us cookies and read us bedtime stories and put band-aids on our knees. And Dad can play football with us in the yard and ruffle our hair and say, 'Nice catch, sport.'" Mikey didn't seem to notice the looks they were all shooting his way.

"Um, 50's sitcom scenarios aside," Donny said uneasily, "This is going to be a drastic life change. How are we going to handle it?"

At this they all looked to Leo. Leo smiled, all confidence, "We'll handle it together, like we always do. Just because we're getting two new additions doesn't mean that anything else has to change. Sure it'll take some adjusting, but I know we can make it work."

Mikey grinned, his infectious energy spreading to his brothers, until they were all grinning at each other stupidly.

_I'm going to have a real family,_ Mikey thought, and then the lab exploded.

**Questions? Comments? Complaints? All will be revealed in due time, grasshoppers. Reivew!**


	17. Don's Not So Siesta

**Evening, all. Thank you my lovely reviewers. To Stonebreeder: I know your pen name already. You don't have to keep signing your reviews. :) Oh, and yeah, I know. I just didn't bother to go back and fix it. Anyway, I hope you all like this new chapter. **

**Disclaimer: Explosions? Check. Assorted background characters? Check. De-turtle-fication? Checkity check. Actual turtles? Nope. :(**

Donatello shoved a crossbeam away from him and struggled out of the ashes. He took stock of himself and was astounded to find that he was almost completely uninjured. Lots of bruises, some scratches, but for once, nothing life threatening. Figures he'd get caught in two explosions in nearly as many days and somehow come out unscathed. He was either very lucky or cursed.

Don slid down from his pile of rubble and landed with a soft whump. The view before him was unreal. Everything was gray, barren, empty. It looked like it was snowing. Flakes of ash tumbled from the sky, dirty, smudging everything. Don suddenly had to stop for a second. He leaned forward, hands on his knees. A couple deep breaths. In and out. In and out.

He nearly passed out when a hand shot out of the ashes in front of him. It was followed closely by a spluttering face. Raph looked like a zombie as he writhed out of the destruction. Don grabbed his hand and gave him a yank.

Raph staggered to his feet, but kept a hand pressed to his right thigh. Don could see blood trickling out from a gash there.

"You ok?" he asked, or tried to anyway. Don tried speaking again and realized he couldn't hear himself. The blast must have temporarily deafened him. He tapped Raph's shoulder and waited till he looked up at him. "You ok?" he mouthed.

Raph looked surprised, eyes widening. He opened his own mouth and Don just shook his head, indicating he couldn't hear either. Raph groaned, or it looked like he did anyway. He fell back, sitting on a protruding chunk of concrete.

Donny kneeled in front of him and pushed his hand away from his leg. He held a hand up and gestured for one of Raph's sais. Raph handed it over after a moment of confusion. Donny used it to cut off the remains of Raph's pant leg. He examined the wound and determined it wasn't deep enough to be too worried about. He ripped off a strip of his own tattered shirt and wrapped it around the wound. It would need stitches if he ever got the chance, but for now this would have to do.

He stood back up and tried to mime that he was going to look around. Raph nodded, but stayed put. _His leg must really be bothering him,_ Don thought.

Donny poked around the immediate area, figuring Mike and Leo had to be nearby. Dr. Morris was probably close too. Don really wished he had his shoes, but he'd never gotten them back from Dr. Morris.

Don jumped again as a new body rose from the debris. This time it was Dr. Morris. He was caked in gray, but appeared unharmed. He didn't even notice Donny as he stumbled through the rubble toward what used to be the center of the building. Don assumed he was going to check for survivors of his own.

Donny was just about to turn and go back to Raph when he saw a pile of ash move. He clambered over to it and heaved some plaster out of the way. He grinned in relief when he recognized his two brothers underneath. Leo was half over Mikey, obviously having tried to shield him from the blast. He was unconscious, but Mikey was squirming around, trying to get out.

Mikey's mouth started moving a mile a minute when he saw Don, but of course, Don couldn't hear a word he said. He wondered when it would occur to Mikey that he couldn't hear himself.

Don leaned down and gently rolled Leo onto his back, freeing Mikey. Mikey hopped up, evidently unhurt.

Don quickly examined Leo and determined his only injuries to be a bump on the head and a dislocated shoulder. "Come here, Mikey," Don ordered and was pleasantly surprised to find he could hear again, well mostly hear again. Everything sounded a little funny.

Mikey bounded over, as gray as everything else in this strange crater. "Is Leo ok?"

"Yeah, I think so. Help me get him up. We have to get back to Raph."

"You found Raph?" Mikey grunted, heaving at Leo's arm. "Is he ok? Where is he?"

"Just around that pile there. He's ok. His leg's a little messed up, but not too bad. Here, if you just hold him like that, I should be able to pop his shoulder…back," Don pushed, and with a sickening crunch, "in," Don finished.

Leo jerked against them and opened his eyes dazedly, "Guys?" he asked, hoarsely.

"It's ok, Leo. We're right here. Mikey and I are fine."

"Good," Leo nodded. "Raph?"

"We're about to take you to him. Think you can stand?"

"Yeah."

With Mikey's and Donny's help, they got Leo to his feet. Don slung Leo's good arm around his shoulders, and Mikey steadied him from the other side. They trudged slowly back through the detritus over to where Raph was still seated on the concrete.

Raph looked up at them, smiling tiredly. "I see you found them."

"Yep, and all in one piece too," Don quipped.

"I wouldn't be so sure about Mikey. Are you sure his brain started in one piece?"

"Hey!" Mikey yelped, offended. "Well are you so sure your uh- face! Yeah! Started in one, uh, in uh," Mikey trailed off sheepishly.

"Nice one Mikey," Raph smirked.

Leo straightened up, sliding his arm off Donny's shoulders. "I'm ok," he said, answering Donny's questioning look.

"Are you sure your arm is alright? I had to pop your shoulder back into place."

"Yeah, it'll be fine. We won't be if we hang around here much longer though. We've gotta get out of here before the cops show up."

"Ah," Donny agreed, "good idea. Mikey, help me with Raph." As they had done with Leo, Donny took Raph on one side, and Mikey took the other. The four hobbled across the ashy wonderland, heading in the direction Don had seen Dr. Morris run in.

They reached him and a small crowd of people in about the center of the building. Dr. Morris saw them coming and waved.

"I'm glad to see you four made it," he said.

"So are we," Leo answered, "but that's not really going to matter if we don't do something before the police get here. Do you have some way my brothers and I can get out of here?"

Before Dr. Morris could answer, sirens and flashing lights filled the air.

**So, I'm not sure how many more chapters after this. I'm thinking I want to end it sometime soon. Hopefully...**


	18. Time's Up

**Hello everyone. This is the penultimate chapter to TMNT. I hope you all have enjoyed the ride, as I have enjoyed conducting it. Reviewers, you made this story so much easier to write. You are the impetus behind this story's creation. Thank you. To everyone who reads but doesn't review, thank you too. **

**Disclaimer: As this story draws to a close, I want to say one thing, for the briefest of seconds, I do own TMNT. I own the universal idea of creation. I own my imagination. I own the essence, if not the actual rights, to these characters that the original creators wanted to share with the world. That's right. I said it. Own. **

Leo blanched as the sirens drew closer, but Dr. Morris seemed unfazed.

"Not to worry," Morris said. "We've planned for this contingency."

Leo's mind raced at this statement. Contingency? In what world would they have a contingency plan for this scenario?

Dr. Morris pointed to a dip in the field of ash. "If you boys head to that depression, there should be a hatch under there. Pry it open. It leads to an underground series of passageways and eventually to the sewer. If you don't mind waiting, I should be able to join you after I account for all my people."

Leo nodded. "You heard him boys," he ordered, "Let's get to it."

Leo led the way, while Mikey and Donny supported Raph over the uneven ground. They reached the depression, and Mikey fell to his knees and sifted through the ash. He found the hatch within seconds and muscled it open. Leo jumped down first. Donny helped Raph down, then jumped down himself. Mikey brought up the rear.

"We want to wait here for Dr. Morris or blow this crazy mess?" Don asked Leo.

"I vote we wait for Dr. Morris."

"You don't think- I mean, they couldn't possibly have-" Don pulled agitatedly at his hair. "Our parents couldn't have survived another explosion, could they? Surely those cryogenic chambers weren't strong enough to survive the blast."

"That's why I want to stay and see," Leo replied calmly. "If there's even the slightest chance that they made it, don't we have to stay and find out?"

Don regarded him, biting his lip, "I don't know, Leo. Everything kind of went to Hell in a hand basket ever since we took this mission.

"What do you mean?" Mikey asked, brow furrowed.

Don continued tugging on an errant curl, stretching it then releasing it. "I don't know, it's just…We took this mission from Splinter. It seemed like it started out well, but then BAM! That building exploded out of nowhere. We still don't know who set that bomb off, might I remind you. Then when we're packing up to go home, after our first ever failed mission, we get attacked by these guys. They kidnap me and Mikey, lock us up, then the second you guys show up to rescue us, they miraculously produce our parents? I don't know. There're just a lot of things that don't add up."

While Don was talking, the other three settled themselves around the tunnel. Leo slumped against a wall, too tired to stand up straight, but not willing to let his guard down far enough to sit down. Raph and Mikey had no such qualms. Raph immediately slid down a wall, stretching out his legs. Mikey curled up at his side, arms around his drawn up knees.

"So you don't think those are our parents," Raph said flatly.

"I didn't say that," Donny defended quickly. "I'm just saying, how can we be sure?"

"What do you think, Leo?" Mikey asked, turning to him.

"I don't know, guys. I want to believe they are, but it's been so long. I know I remember them the best, but still…Don brings up some good points. I think our best bet is to split up. Mikey you take Raph and head for the surface. Splinter, April, and Casey should be nearby. Find them and explain the situation. Don and I will wait here for Morris."

"Hey whoa, hold on a second," Raph interrupted. "Why are you sending me out, Leo? I have just as much right to be here as you do."

"You're hurt Raph. You wouldn't be much good in a fight in your condition."

"You're hurt too, in case you forgot, Fearless."

Leo rotated his shoulder slowly and grimaced. "I know, but I can fight with one arm. You can't with one leg. End of discussion. Mikey get him out of here."

Mikey apprehensively approached Raph. Raph growled, but allowed Mikey to help him up. "I hope you know what you're doin' Leo," Raph shot over his shoulder. Leo just looked him. Raph turned around and kept walking. He and Mikey disappeared around a corner moments later.

Leo and Donny stood in silence. Each was lost in their own thoughts. It wasn't long before they heard the hatch grate open again.

Dr. Morris jumped down the hatch and landed gracefully, surprisingly spry for someone who looked as old as he did. He smiled when he saw Don and Leo. "Gentlemen, I'm glad you decided to wait for me."

Leo struggled up from his slouched position against the tunnel wall, and Don stepped up, standing just a few inches behind him.

"We hope you can give us a good reason for waiting," Leo returned, eyeing him steadily.

Dr. Morris paused, regarding them warily, "I thought we left all the distrust behind us in the lab boys."

"So did I, but I've actually had a moment to stop and think between the explosions and kidnappings and reappearing family members. You'll forgive me if I'm a little suspicious. "I can understand your position, Leonardo," Dr. Morris placated, "but you have nothing to fear from me or my company. Our sole purpose was to reunite you four with your parents."

"That's another thing. You claim those people in those test tubes were our parents. How can we be so sure?"

"You'll just have to take my word for it."

At this Leo smiled, a sardonic twist of the lips, "I'm sorry Dr. Morris, but that's not good enough. I won't risk mine and my brother's safety on a chance."

Dr. Morris stared at Leo coolly from across the tunnel. The width of the tunnel couldn't have been more than twelve feet, but the distance seemed to stretch. Something rose between them that night, something hard and implacable.

Leo had a feeling they'd just alienated themselves from Dr. Morris and his people, from a potential ally or maybe a potential foe. He couldn't say which. It might not even matter at this point. Leo had so much to gain by trusting this man, but everything to lose. He couldn't stake his family on this man and his word.

"It seems we've reached an impasse," Dr. Morris broke the silence.

Leo nodded, "We have."

"Then I'll bid you gentlemen adieu," Dr. Morris bowed slightly, then turned on his heel and disappeared into the twilight of the tunnels.

**That's all for now folks. Reviews are always welcome. **


	19. Epilogue

**IMPORTANT! Hi, all. Sorry to cut the story off so abruptly, but there are some mitigating circumstances. I'll be leaving the country tomorrow on a study abroad trip, and I'll be gone for a month. Fear not though, I intend to write a sequel to tie up the many loose ends I've left. I really hadn't intended to make this fic so long, but it kind of got away from me. Anyway, I digress. Enjoy this epilogue; it's the last you'll see of the guys, at least for a month or so. **

**Disclaimer: Ah, what the hey, I'll make it normal for once. I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or anything from their fictional universe. **

Mikey leaned back against the wall of the van and closed his eyes. He and Raph had met up with Splinter, April, and Casey almost an hour ago. The three immediately pounced on Raph, and with the amount of blood that was leaking out of his leg, Mikey couldn't blame them.

Michelangelo had basically been relegated to sitting in the back and staying out of the way, which was fine with him. His head hurt, and it wasn't just from getting knocked around so much the past week.

He'd waited in the van about ten minutes before Don and Leo showed up. Mikey guessed it hadn't gone well after getting a look at their faces. Both merely grunted when he asked them what had happened, so he let it go. Now everyone was seated, and they were heading home.

Everything was just too much. In so little time he'd: nearly joined The Foot, gotten the stuffing kicked out of him by an elite guard, been kidnapped, experimented on in a lab, rescued (almost anyway), found his parents, lost his parents, gotten caught in an explosion, and was now sitting in the back of a top secret TMNT reconnaissance van.

Life was always exciting; it came part and parcel with being a TMNT agent, but for once, Mikey was glad to just be going home. He wanted to sit in his room and read comic books. He wanted to lounge on the couch and play video games. He wanted to whip up some junk food in the kitchen and have a movie night with the guys.

He didn't want to think about this mission. He didn't want to think about the future. Nothing could go back to the way it was. They couldn't just pretend that they'd never met Dr. Morris and his team of super ninjas. They couldn't ignore the fact that those bodies in the test tubes might have been their parents. If they had been, they could have survived the explosion. They could still be out there, maybe with Dr. Morris, maybe with whoever set off the bomb.

There were too many maybes, too many what-ifs. There were too many variables, as Don would say. There was too much everything, as far as Mikey was concerned, and he really wished it would all just go away. He liked his life to be simple, cut and dry. Kick some butt, then go chill out. No deep thinking. No pondering the impending future. No looking past next morning's breakfast.

Mikey sighed and rubbed his temples. He looked up through his bangs and watched his brothers. They were all asleep. Raph was sitting next to him, head back, mouth open, one arm stretched across the back of the seat. Leo was straight up and down, but his chin was tucked against his chest. His dark hair was sticking up all over his head. Don was slumped in the corner, arms crossed against his chest. His eyes were darting back and forth under his lids, obviously dreaming of something.

Mikey closed his eyes once again too. He didn't want to think about tomorrow, but it would come anyway. For now though, he was going to sleep. Whatever was coming would come, and he'd worry about it when it got here.

**End! That's it guys. I hope you liked it. Scratch that. I hope you loved it! Look for a sequel in about a month or so. Holly's Follies out. **


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